One Bad Week
by Languish-Dreams
Summary: Complete. Poor Shuichi's having one bad day after another. What will this week lead to in the end? Rated for language, pocky, delusions, rabid fangirls, general stupidity, and the dreaded glue incident.
1. Friday

A/N: Welcome, dear readers, to One Bad Week! This story is finished at 25 Chapters. As of 06/03/09, I have edited all chapters for mistakes as well as took out the old author's notes and reader reviews. All the Interludes from the story have been moved to their own story. Please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gravitation or it's characters. The story is purely fan made and no profit is being made from its creation.

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter One: Friday_

Shuichi stumbled, letting out a small curse as he fell to his knees for the third time. He had decided earlier that today had simply not been his day and was more than a little anxious to get back home. Sitting on the sidewalk for a few minutes to catch his breath, the pink-haired singer mentally re-counted the day's events.

First of all, he'd been late for work. This in itself was no big deal as it happened on an annoyingly common basis. Unfortunately K, along with everyone else, was more than a little pissed off at his tardiness today. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that once the day's recording was done, the entire group would be on a two-week vacation. After an hour had passed the gun-toting American had taken to randomly firing his gun in the room to vent his pent up rage. Shuichi had managed to pick that moment to be directly outside of the studio door to which one bullet took the opportunity to pass through.

As K said it was only a flesh wound, barely a scratch; though it bled (in Shuichi's mind) for hours on end. But still, his upper arm had been killing him the entire day since and it pained him a bit when even Sakano had simply offered to throw a band-aid on it instead of rushing him to the hospital where his gaping wound could be treated by licensed professionals. Another hour had been wasted as Hiro calmed him down, finally pointing out that only a single Kleenex had been spared before the 'gun shot wound' had stopped bleeding.

The rest of the day hadn't been that bad, but it wasn't exactly a picnic either. After all, when every vending machine in the building runs out of pocky on the same day, THAT ALONE should be considered a day to be remembered and feared. Add to that the fact that once he'd managed to get a box he nearly choked to death on a stick (in his lustful greed to shove the treats into his mouth as fast as possible) and Tohma (of all people) had given him the Heimlich maneuver in order to keep his newest pop star from becoming worm food.

And as if the day couldn't have gotten worse after the 'pocky incident', something he just knew would be talked about for weeks to come, Tohma had insisted Shuichi go home and recover, fearing the combination of his two 'brushes with death' might be a bit much for anyone, let along a hyper pink-haired idiot, to handle. His twisted luck had stayed with him as the elevator decided to shut down right in between floors six and seven. With it being the middle of summer, and nearly one hundred degrees out that day, the elevator had quickly become a sauna; a very dark, creepy, and enclosed sauna. One that had kept making all kinds of funny noises that eventually convinced the then terrified singer that any moment it was going to hurl itself down the shaft and crash most painfully to the basement floor below.

Three excruciating hours later he'd been set free, diving out of the box and praying to any God that would listen that he'd never eat pocky again if only the day would somehow get better.

The Gods didn't seem to be listening very well.

Probably took a message and would 'get back to him'.

So now, sitting on his bruised knees on a very hot and very rough sidewalk, Shuichi was contemplating whether or not he'd actually get home in one piece.

'I should have called Yuki and asked for a ride.' He berated himself.

Sighing at the passed opportunity, Shuichi begrudgingly stood up and, having lost whatever spunk he still had left, began to trudge his way home on shaky legs. Three swerved cars, one basketball to the head, an ice cream cone down his shirt, and a bicycle collision later, he finally arrived home. At this point he wouldn't be surprised if Yuki took one look at him and immediately kicked him out of the apartment. With the way his luck had been going today it honestly wouldn't surprise him any. Gather what little strength still remained in his battered body he unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"Where the hell have you been?"

Shuichi looked up, startled by the almost concerned tone carried in the usually stoic novelist's voice, and promptly fell forward in a dead faint.

When he opened his eyes next, Shuichi was surprised to find himself in a depressingly under decorated room lying on a stiff bed with a very annoying beeping sound ringing through his ears. Looking around, he took a moment before realizing he was in the hospital, at least with the I.V. sticking out his arm he'd BETTER be in the hospital. Lying back, he recalled the entire day's events and suddenly came to the conclusion that he'd been expecting to end up here all day long.

Ironic almost.

"Dehydration."

Shuichi blinked and turned, his violet eyes taking in the lean form of one Eiri Yuki leaning up against the room's doorframe.

"What?" he asked, his voice a bit hoarse.

"You passed out, idiot. The doctor said it was because of dehydration."

"Oh."

Yuki walked in, slowly pulling out a chair and setting it by the bed before sitting down and regarding the singer for a few moments.

"Tohma called me after you left and told me about your day. I was expecting you home a lot faster than you got there, what took so damn long?"

Shuichi thought for a moment. Oh yeah…

"Well, after the elevator was finally fixed I ran out of the building and started home but I tripped and fell on my knees, which really hurt you know. So I got back up and pushed the button to cross the street and when it turned green I ran across, but I guess I looked wrong because I almost got hit by like three or four cars on the way across and by the time I reached the other side I fell on my knees again. Before I could get up this kid ran into me and dropped his ice cream and it somehow went down my shirt and I freaked out cause it was so cold and scared him and he started crying and then his big brother got really mad and started chasing me. So I ran around the block a few times trying to get rid of him and he did give up but he threw his basketball at me before he did and it hit me on the head and made me fall again. Only this time I fell into the path of this guy on a bicycle and he ran me over and fell off and he was really mad too and started chasing me but he gave up a lot sooner than the other guy and then I fell again and-"

Sensing his lover wouldn't stop until he was either done or had passed out from lack of oxygen, Yuki decided to employ 'shut up' tactic number six: the kiss. It was a very effective and enjoyable ploy that usually ended up being followed by yet another more enjoyable situation, which unfortunately could not be performed here.

Damn hospitals.

He pulled away a few minutes later, smirking inwardly at the very deep blush and rather dreamy expression plastered on the singer's face and leaned back in his chair.

"Sounds like a pretty shitty day." He commented.

Shuichi smiled, still lost in the feel of Yuki's lips pressed against his. "Oh, it wasn't that bad."

Yuki couldn't help but grin.


	2. Saturday

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter Two: Saturday_

Black dress shoes clacked noisily against the white tiled hospital floors, echoing down the corridor before being lost against the murmured voices of nurses and patients. Yuki pondered to himself how his shoes seemed to make so much racket while those of the man walking next to him seemed to produce no noise at all.

"The soles are lined."

Yuki started, now officially freaked out at the way his brother-in-law had read his mind.

Tohma chuckled but offered no explanation as he walked on ahead to the nurses' station to retrieve the paperwork necessary to have Shuichi released. Yuki finally joined him, having collected himself but keeping an uneasy distance from the blond man.

"Excuse me. We are here to take Shindou Shuichi home."

The petite nurse behind the counter smiled and nodded before setting about looking for the patient's chart and papers. A few seconds later she returned, looking a bit confused as she read the paper before her.

"I'm sorry sirs, but Miss Shindou is being prepped for surgery right now."

Both men's eyes widened and Yuki had to push his jaw shut with his hand.

"EXCUSE ME?"

"Er, yes. She's here for a total hysterectomy, right? You must have been misinformed about the release date or something, I can-"

"Excuse me." Tohma interrupted. "It appears an error has been made. Shuichi is not a Miss. He's a boy and was only in the hospital due to dehydration."

The nurse paled. "Oh dear."

"Don't 'oh dear' us damn it! Where the hell did they take him?" Yuki growled out.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Oh." Tohma said, turning in the direction of the scream with a smile. "Never mind."

A few seconds later Shuichi, wearing only a paper thin hospital gown and trailing an I.V. machine behind him, came tearing around the corner with a mixed look of shock and anger on his face. Upon seeing Yuki and Tohma the singer squealed and promptly launched himself into the air.

Bonus points go to both men who, Tohma having been around Ryuichi long enough and Yuki having had this maneuver performed by Shuichi before, side-stepped in time to dodge the incoming ball of pink fluff and watched with bored expressions as he unceremoniously hurled himself onto a gurney.

Their expressions changed to ones of horror, however, when the gurney, propelled by Shuichi's diving force, suddenly began to roll itself down the hallway at a speed that should not have been possible.

As he started down the un-usually long hallway, the only thing Shuichi could think was that his bad luck had apparently carried over to his vacation.

After several nurses and a doctor, all of whom were trying to get 'Miss' Shindou back to surgery, went flying by, Tohma and Yuki finally snapped from their stupor and gave chase as well. Shuichi, having had his head buried once he realized what was happening, finally looked up to see when this 'joy ride' was going to end.

How he wished he hadn't.

The gurney, still blaring full speed, was now heading straight for a door with a little sign next to it. As the bed got closer, Shuichi paled when he finally was able to read the letters on the sign.

Stairs.

And the door was propped wide open.

And they were on the seventh floor.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

When he opened his eyes, Shuichi was almost amused to find the same ceiling from yesterday staring back at him. Feeling groggy, it took a few minutes to register that the room was dark; not even a little bit of light was coming through from the window. Groaning softly, he tried to bring his hand up, but found it was strangely heavy.

"Dislocated wrist." A tired voice said.

"Yuki?"

A small overhead light suddenly clicked on, and Shuichi blinked his eyes a few times before they finally adjusted to the intrusion. The first thing he noted was that Yuki looked like crap.

Truly, he could have been smarter that Suguru and not been able to find a more fitting way to describe the blond novelist. Yuki's clothes, usually neat and straight, were thoroughly wrinkled, his shirt un-tucked and with what looked like a few stains on it. His hair was a mess, the likely result of running his hand through it too many times, a bit of a nervous habit that Shuichi had unconsciously picked up on as well.

"What happened?" he asked quietly. The last thing he remembered was hurtling towards the stair way at top speed and screaming like a maniac.

Yuki sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "We couldn't stop you before you went through the stairway door. I think you got down about three flights before one of the gurney wheels snapped. It ricocheted off a wall and hit you on the head."

Shuichi reached his other hand up and felt the bandage wrapped around his head. Damn. No wonder his head hurt so much.

"That didn't stop the gurney, though it did make a rather impressive turn and some how ended up going out of another open door and down the hall."

Shuichi almost laughed. His luck was painful, but almost amusing in itself.

"As it turns out," Yuki continued. "The floor you landed on was under construction. They're putting in a balcony or something. And that area was wide open and you just had to be going straight towards it."

The pink-haired singer blinked. And he had thought yesterday was bad. Oh well. At least this time he wasn't awake to go through it all.

"Fortunately with only three wheels the gurney had slowed down enough that we were catching up. But it hit the edge of the unfinished railing and sent you over the edge. I was the closest and just managed to grab your wrist before you became a human pancake in front of the hospital." He finished.

Shuichi had heard everything Yuki had said and taken it rather well. That is, until he registered that the author had save him.

"Yuki."

"Hm?"

"Yuki…"

"What?"

"Yuki…."

"Damn it, what is it?"

Shuichi launched himself from the bed, heedless to the way his entire body protested the sudden movement, and jumped into Yuki's lap.

"Yuki saaaaaaaved me! Yuki loooooooves me! Yuki saaaaaaaved me! Yuki looooooves me!"

The blond grunted, his first instinct being to shove the pink-haired moron to the floor; but common sense and Shuichi's brush with death stopped him and instead he wrapped his arms around the singer and embraced him. After a few minutes of listening to Shuichi's singing declaration, Yuki put shut up tactic number twenty-five into practice.

"Shu-bear."

The singer, shocked at the use of the almost-never-used title, immediately grew quiet and pulled back to stare into his lover's eyes. His brain started to amass with thoughts of loving declarations, concerns over his well-being, and the romantic nothings the novelist would whisper to him as he held him.

"God, you're heavy. You need to lay off the pocky."

Nearly face-vaulting from Yuki's lap, truthfully he would have if the blond didn't still have his arms wrapped around him; Shuichi employed a tactic of his own. It was from his own collection of 'ways to pay Yuki back when he does/says something mean'. A rather long list of methods, seeing as how repetition is boring and there were so many chances to put such vengeances to good use.

Shindou vengeance number one: Ear bites are fun.

Thus being decided, Shuichi wrapped his arms around the author and whined softly. "Soooo mean Yuki!"

This declaration always preceded an attack.

You'd think Yuki would catch on. Honestly.

Battle cry in place Shuichi leaned forward and licked a trail from Yuki's ear lobe, all the way up and around before giving the appendage a light nip. The moment he leaned back a hand was slapped up and a deep blush crossed over Yuki's face. Shuichi was back in bed before the blond could move further.

"You damn brat!"

Shuichi giggled. Victory was sweet.

Figuring it best to change the subject before Yuki could continue on a tirade, judging by the bulge in his pants and the feral look in his eyes Shuichi could guess what he'd be in store for if he didn't distract the sex-craving man before him, he put on his best innocent face and asked,

"When do I get to go home, Yuki?"

The author sighed and leaned back in his chair. No, he couldn't start anything here. More than likely a nurse would wander in and….he shuddered to think of the commotion that would ensue afterwards.

Again. Damn hospitals.

"Tomorrow. You slept the whole day so it's not much longer to go."

Shuichi nodded and sighed. Great. His vacation just started and he'd already spent more time in the hospital than at home. Or out doing something fun. Reflecting on his luck, he figured maybe the hospital was the best place for him.

Remembering the gurney he decided that it was most definitely not.

Sitting up, Shuichi swung his feet over the edge of the bed and stood up on shaky feet.

"Where are you going, freak?"

"I gotta…you know…go."

Yuki snickered and nodded. When Shuichi walked past, Yuki couldn't help but watch the singer's butt, slightly uncovered by the god-awful hospital gown, swing back and forth as he walked. When the pink-haired teen got to the bathroom door he looked back and, catching Yuki's eyes, he grinned and winked.

Yuki snapped his head around and scowled.

He hated being caught.

Feeling better, Shuichi hummed a bit as he finished up and leaned forward to flush the toilet. He stepped over to the sink, only to find he couldn't move. As a matter of fact, the gown had become kind tight all of a sudden and it was starting to cut into his throat a little bit. Panicked, he did the only thing he could think of.

He screamed.

Loud and long.

A few seconds later Yuki burst in and found a sight that would have been laughable if Shuichi's face wasn't turning purple. Apparently the gown, far too long for the short boy, had somehow gotten sucked into the toilet when it was flushed and was now (thanks to an oddly powerful toilet) being dragged into the pipes below.

With Shuichi still attached.

The blond jumped forward and pulled the strings of the gown apart, spinning Shuichi around and watched as the gown was ripped from his body and sucked into the toilet.

Only it was a bit much for even an industrial toilet to handle.

When the nurses entered they found a naked pink-haired boy, panting and frightened, being held by a rather dirty looking blond man who was watching in amusement as the toilet over-flowed before the teen collapsed.

Tohma was laughing while bailing an enraged Yuki out of jail later on.


	3. Sunday

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 3: Sunday_

Eiri Yuki looked down at the sleeping mass of pink haired singer cuddled against his chest and sighed. It had only been an hour since the two had returned from the hospital, without incident, and he was already dead tired. Not to mention still pissed off about spending several hours in jail until Tohma had explained the situation and bailed him out.

And the bastard had the nerve to laugh.

Still, in some twisted cosmic backlash type of way the entire thing was funny.

Yuki felt his eye twitch.

_Yeah. Funny like a third nipple in a vice grip._

He blinked.

Where in hell had that come from?

Looking at his watch, the author noted with a groan that he hadn't slept in almost thirty-six hours. Yep. That'll warp your mind. Shuichi mumbled something incoherent against his chest and snuggled closer; bringing the blonde's attention back to the reason he hadn't slept in the past thirty-six hours. Every time he closed his eyes all he could see was Shuichi flying over the broken balcony railing, falling to meet his death on the pavement below.

He shuddered just thinking about it.

"Mm…Yuki?"

Looking down, a bleary pair of violet eyes met his and Yuki suppressed a smile at the cuteness the half-sleep Shuichi possessed.

"Go back to sleep, brat."

The singer shifted a bit, wrapping his good arm around the novelist's chest.

"I thought you shivered. Are you cold?" he asked.

Yuki wrapped his arm around Shuichi's waist and gave the tired teen a slight hug, pulling him closer and holding him there.

"Nyah. Go back to sleep."

He didn't bother waiting for a response, feeling the steady rise of Shuichi chest told him the teen had already fallen back into slumber.

When he next opened his eyes, Shuichi was surprised to find himself still curled up against Yuki on the couch. Blinking a few times to rid the sleep from his mind and eyes, the singer wiggled from the blond's embrace and looked at the clock.

Five o'clock.

God, they had just about slept Sunday away.

Shuichi couldn't help but grin. The entire day was going to be over soon and nothing bad had happened at all! Maybe his luck was finally turning around now. Standing up, he winced slightly. His entire body was sore from being run over by that bicycle. Really, he didn't think anything on two wheels could go that fast. That guy must have been doing the speed limit! Turning around, a smile traced up Shuichi's lips as he observed Yuki, still fitfully asleep sitting against the couch.

_He looks so cute when he's sleeping…hmm…but that position isn't going to help his back any. I should lay him down._

Still wary of his bad luck streak continuing Shuichi very, very carefully began to position the sleeping novelist until his lover was lying down on the couch. He grabbed a pillow and a blanket from a nearby closet and made Yuki as comfortable as he could. Shuichi stood there for a while; silently watching his blonde lover sleep until the rumbling of his stomach told him it was past time to eat.

_I should order out. No sense in pressing things…_

He stood for a few moments thinking; one finger absently tapping against his bottom lip until he finally decided which shop he would call to order from. Resolved and hungry, the pink-haired singer turned to make his way to the phone and suddenly found himself falling towards the floor. It was only in that moment, as the floor slow-motioned towards his face that Shuichi realized his foot had gotten caught in the blanket that was spilling over the edge of the couch. Instinct kicked in, and Shuichi threw his hands forward to catch himself.

Completely forgetting his very tender previously dislocated wrist.

_Ow ow ow ow ow OWW!_

He bit back a scream of pain, intent on not disturbing his overly tired lover and waited quietly to see if he'd done so anyway. After a few minutes of silent sobbing and wrist clutching, Shuichi managed to pick himself up and look back to the couch.

Still sleeping.

Yuki must have been really tired.

Still holding his wrist, Shuichi stumbled to the kitchen and found a small white bag with the letters 'Rx'. Opening it, he found a prescription for pain pills in his name. Funny. He didn't remember stopping by a pharmacy and picking any prescriptions up.

Then again he'd been out of it most of the day and night anyway. Grabbing the bottle, he examined the label to find out what the doctor had given him for pain.

"Hmm…Hy..dro..co..done…" He shrugged, figuring that pain pills were pain pills and popped two into his mouth before grabbing a glass to fill with water.

Confucius says: When taking new medication, always read the labels for side effects.

Never one to think of cosmic wisdom, Shuichi made his way to the phone and quietly placed his order.

Thirty minutes later the doorbell rang and Shuichi, determined to allow Yuki to sleep as long as possible, hurried to answer it. Ignoring the small wave of dizziness that his frantic actions caused, he grabbed his wallet and answered the door. Exchange made and food in hand the pink-haired singer made his way to the kitchen and placed the boxes on the counter top.

When he found himself absently rubbing his still aching wrist, violet eyes immediately traveled to the small tan bottle of pain medication.

_This must be some really lousy stuff. Better take another just in case._

Grabbing the bottle he drew another pill, and then a second for extra-good measure, and swallowed, washing it down with a glass of water before heading to the living room to wake Yuki.

He smiled when he saw his lover had unconsciously rolled onto his stomach and was still peacefully sleeping, giving off light snores occasionally.

_Aww, so cute! I'll just let him sleep…_

Shuichi started back to the kitchen when a sudden thought hit him.

_Man, how can he sleep with that blanket on? It's so hot in here! I'm even sweating!_

Moving to the hallway, intent on adjusting the thermostat, Shuichi found the device set on its usual temperature. He shrugged to himself, figuring his body must be out of whack today and padded back towards the waiting food.

The apartment seemed….lighter. And really….motion-y. Shuichi giggled. He started to wonder if motion-y was a word or not. It took several attempts to 'find' the kitchen again and by the time he got there, he had forgotten why he'd come in the first place. Glancing around, Shuichi saw the take-out boxes and reasoned out, after another few minutes of deep thinking, that he must be hungry.

_Hmm…If I'm hungry, then Yuki must be too! I should wake him up to eat!_

Bouncing, though wobbly, to the living room, he giggled again at seeing his lover deeply asleep on the couch.

_Nyah. I'll let him sleep. He looks so cute!_

Turning around sharply, the entire apartment began to dance and before he knew it, Shuichi was lying on the floor watching the ceiling spin.

_Ooooh…neat-o! I wonder if we can use something like this in our next video…_

The ceiling only held so much entertainment, unfortunately, and the hyper pop star eventually sat up. After a several minutes of being entranced by the entire room spinning, he finally realized he was hungry.

_Don't wanna cook something…I should order out!_

Jumping up, and nearly falling back down, Shuichi made his way to the phone. Puzzled as to why it wasn't there, he searched around the apartment until he landed back in the kitchen.

Where the take-out boxes were still sitting.

_When did I order that?_

Not that it mattered, his stomach was seriously pissed off and loudly protesting the lack of sustenance. Shuichi's eyes widened when he realized just how hungry he was.

And, of course, his thoughts immediately strayed to Yuki.

And how hungry **he** must be.

After nearly four hours of the hazy medication-induced stupidity of going back and forth between the kitchen and the living room, Shuichi ended up sitting in the hallway crying.

He was so hungry.

But every time he tried to eat something would happen.

He couldn't figure out what the problem was damn it, he wanted to eat something!

Gasping sharply, the thought –again- hit him that Yuki was probably starving by now.

Jumping up (and falling back down) Shuichi groaned slightly.

NO! Yuki's probably really, really hungry! I'll crawl if I have to! I'M COMING YUKI!

And so, crawling down the hallway, unable to feel the carpet grinding across his still scraped knees, Shuichi slowly made it to the living room.

And froze when he saw Yuki's sleeping form.

He wasn't really sure why, but he started to cry.

This is what greeted Yuki when he finally opened his eyes.

"What the hell?"

Sitting up, more than irritated at the rough sleep from the couch, Yuki turned his attention to his crying lover, wondering what the name of God could have upset the singer this time. The past two days suddenly came back to him and the novelist was up in a flash.

"Shuichi? What the hell happened now?"

The pink-haired singer looked up, looking a bit maniacal at the fact that his Yuki was awake and could possibly help solve his nightmarish problem. Launching himself forward, Shuichi wrapped his arms around the blond and began explaining, through choked sobs, what he thought was happening.

Yuki was more than a little confused. The only thing he could make out was something about being hungry, spinning video ceilings, and crawling. He was alarmed at the generous coating of sweat that adorned the singer and began to wonder if he'd some how caught a cold on top of everything else. The word 'hungry' popped up again and Yuki figured that was one problem he could easily solve.

"Come on. We'll order out."

"Nooooooo! Don't go near the phone Yukiiiiii!"

Startled by the violent outburst, the novelist pulled back and looked at a very frantic and scared Shuichi.

"What in the world is wrong with you? Did someone call?"

"Weren't you listening? Every time you go near the phone you end up in the living room and you're just hungrier than before!"

Okay. Something was than a little wrong here. Determined to discover what had transformed his idiot into a complete retard, Yuki stood up and – ignoring Shuichi protests of dimensional transportation, which he wasn't aware the singer knew such long words, Yuki finally managed to get to the kitchen dragging Shuichi along.

Where the take-out boxes were still sitting. Right next to the phone.

Yuki eyed the boxes warily, true worry beginning to set in until he saw the tan bottle of pain medicine sitting on the counter as well. Picking it up and reading the label, he looked over to Shuichi, who was busy standing stock-still, waiting patiently for the 'transportation' to take place. The blond sighed and held the bottle out.

"Did you take some of these?"

Shuichi started; obviously surprised he wasn't in the living room yet and squinted at the bottle for a few moments.

"I…don't know…"

"Did you order this?" Yuki asked, pointing towards the boxes.

Again, Shuichi squinted at the boxes, looking a bit surprised to find them there.

"I…don't know?"

Yuki sighed. Digging through the bag he pulled out a sheet of side effects and quietly read to himself.

Hydrocodone has many side effects, including:

_Lightheadedness._

_Drowsiness._

_Nausea or vomiting._

_Constipation._

_Difficulty urinating._

_Difficulty breathing._

_In some people Hydrocodone impairs balance, coordination, and your ability to think…_

That was about all he needed to know.


	4. Sunday continued

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 4: Sunday Continued_

_There he goes again._

Lifting the steaming mug of tea to his lips Yuki took a long sip before setting it back down on the coffee table.

_Hyperactive idiot._

A barely visible blur of pink raced past so fast Yuki did not even miss a second of the television show his eyes were currently fixed on.

Not that he was really watching it anyway.

After counting the number of pills and finding four missing the author had called the hospital and confirmed that Shuichi was in no danger of over-dosing. The nurse, however, seemed a bit uneasy about the teen's reaction to the medication. Nonetheless she assured Yuki that the effects should not last more than a few more hours. It had eased his mind enough to be able to eat and force Shuichi, who seemed convinced that food was never to be allowed to touch his lips again, to eat before sitting down to enjoy a few moments in front of the TV; for the most part, anyway.

Shuichi, being the natural idiot that he is, did not seem to realize that one of the side effects of Hydrocodone is fatigue. So the pink-haired J-pop singer was now racing around the apartment like a madman. Fortunately, Yuki had convinced his lover that the place was filthy and Shuichi, in his drug-induced enhanced state of stupidity, had now taken it upon himself to completely wipe down every square inch of their home.

Literally.

From the corner of his eye Yuki could see Shuichi carrying a bucket, sponge, bleach, and a scrub brush in the direction of the bathroom. It was not really necessary to go to those lengths to clean the bath since Yuki kept the entire house pretty clean. But since Shuichi was ten times more annoying right now, Yuki could not be bothered to care. A loud thud and the sound of splashing greeted him a few minutes later and then Shuichi's cry of "I'M OKAY!" rang through the apartment.

The novelist sighed. "I need a cigarette."

Reaching to the pack on the table he growled upon discovering it was empty. Sighing again, Yuki stood up and made his way back to his study where he knew a fresh pack was sitting in one of the drawers of his desk. Passing the bathroom the overwhelming stench of bleach greeted him and Yuki peeked in to ask his idiot boyfriend why he was using so much. What he found was borderline scary and amusing at the same time.

Apparently the pink-haired singer had managed to trip and drop everything he was carrying. The bleach must have gone airborne since at least half the gallon was now dripping from Shuichi's hair. The singer was now standing in the middle of the bathroom looking like he was going to cry.

Or already was. It was hard to tell when he had his head lowered.

Yuki sighed again and thought about keeping count of the number of times he had done so in the past few hours.

"What happened now?" Yuki asked.

Looking up at the sound of the novelist's voice, it became apparent to Yuki that Shuichi was, in fact, crying. A fact that did not help Yuki understand the string of hiccupped words that flew at super speed from the teen's mouth as he tried, in his Shucihian way, to explain why the bathroom was covered in bleach. Yuki simply rolled his eyes and grabbed his lover's arm, placed him the shower, and turned the water on.

"Scrub that crap out of your hair before you become a blond. Then clean this mess up, alright?"

Placated for the moment the singer quickly complied and Yuki left him alone to find his cigarettes. A few seconds after leaving the study, new pack of cigarettes in hand, a naked pink blur streaked past him and into the bedroom shutting the door with a loud slam.

"I'm gonna do laundry Yuki, want me to do yours, too?" Shuichi yelled through the door.

"Hell no!" the writer screamed back.

It was only nine o'clock. Yuki sighed again and went to the kitchen for a beer.

Shuichi, in the meantime, was busy in the bedroom hurriedly gathering every last piece of dirty clothing that belonged to him. It was a little hard to manage without a bulldozer to help, but he eventually got everything into the laundry room with only a minor struggle. He was expecting a fight; after all, he was hauling over half his wardrobe at one time. Ignoring his new nakedness Shuichi proceeded to stuff the washer full of clothes. Jumping onto the machine and stomping the clothes in seemed to help, and soon every piece of cloth was neatly wedged inside. He dumped his wet, bleach splotched clothes in last and shut the lid.

_Oops! Almost forgot the soap!_

Re-opening the lid, he measured and poured a half-cup of washing powder in, shut the lid, and stared at the machine for a few minutes. Then he remembered that it would have to be turned on.

_Let's see…Super Load…Cold/Warm…Hmm…What's this? Mega Ultra Spin? What a cool sounding setting!_

Pulling the knob out, the sound of water (just barely) filtered through the lid and Shuichi grinned. Getting his laundry done in one load was not just a record; it was going to be a huge time saver too. Humming, he made his way into the bedroom (having discovered his natural state of dress) and searched around for clothes to wear. Unfortunately, it seemed the only things left were pajamas, a tank top, and a pair of short shorts. Well, it wasn't like he was going anywhere after all. So, with this thought in mind, Shuichi jumped into a pair of boxers (his favorite pair, with little bunnies on them) and grabbed a tank top.

Medications tend to pick the most unusual times to stop working.

Now was one of those times.

Heading towards the living room all thoughts of cleaning or laundry left Shuichi. By the time Yuki and the couch came into view, the singer was literally dragging himself across the floor.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Yuki asked, raising his eyebrow at the suddenly lethargic younger man.

Just making it to the couch Shuichi plopped down and groaned. "Sooooo tirrrreddd!"

Yuki rolled his eyes and put his cigarette out. "Bout damn time."

He didn't bother protesting when he found his lap full of Shuichi's head, opting instead to simply begin running his fingers through the teen's hair.

The very pink and white swirled hair.

He managed not to laugh though. Yuki knew Shuichi was going to freak out when he saw the splotches of white decorating his head tomorrow. The poor boy looked like a rejected Easter egg. They managed a few minutes of comfortable silence, interrupted only by the television, before a loud grating sound started up from down the hall.

"What the hell is that?" he asked gruffly, immediately looking down to his idiot lover for answers.

Shuichi opened his eyes and listened for a few seconds before realization hit. Jumping up, he tore past Yuki and down the hallway. Yuki began massaging his temples the second Shuichi disappeared. There was just no telling what could possibly happe-

"ARRRGGHHH! KILLER WASHING MACHINE!"

Eyes widening, Yuki jumped up and started down the hall.

"SPIN CYCLE OF DEATH! YYYUUUUKKKIIIIII! HHHEEEEELLLPPPPPP!"

_That's what I need. Help._

Although Yuki did learn something knew.

He didn't know washing machine could hop.

Ten o'clock.

The washing machine was now dead.

Shuichi in all his glorious stupidity, and apparently still slightly hopped up on the pain medication, decided that the threat needed to be eliminated.

His exact words by the way.

As Yuki threw the now broken baseball bat in the trash, he silently wondered if Shuichi had ever been on a baseball team when he was a kid. If the washing machine were any indication, the singer would have been a sure-fire homerun hitter. Finishing the tea, he grabbed a cup and went into the living room. Setting it down in front of his miserable looking boyfriend, who had just seen his pink and white hair a few moments ago (and as predicted, freaked out) Yuki sat down and lit a cigarette.

"Anything savable?"

Shuichi sighed and shook his head. "No. All my clothes are ruined."

"Why in the hell did you put them all in the machine at one time?" Yuki growled out.

"Why in the hell did you let me?" the singer shot back.

"That's it. No more pain medication for you."

Shuichi sighed again and flopped back on the couch. "Fine. I'll just hurt in silence."

"Idiot. You can take aspirin or some thing. No more of that pain medication for you."

The singer didn't respond; he was too lost in his own thoughts. Most of which consisted of cursing the Gods that had obviously taken a vacation and not heard his plea to stop the bad luck that was now slowly sending him to an early grave. Pocky be damned! If just one good thing could happen he wouldn't touch the stuff for the rest of all his lives!

That thought was enough to bring tears to his eyes.

Yuki sighed again, and then berated himself for losing count.

"We'll go to the mall tomorrow and get you some new clothes, alright?"

Shuichi perked instantly. "Really, Yuki? Really?"

"Yes, really. We need a new washing machine anyw-"

As earlier, Yuki didn't bother to protest. A lapful of Shuichi is one thing.

But a mouthful is so much better.


	5. Monday

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 5: Monday_

One o'clock.

Lunch was over and the house was restored to its usual pristine condition.

Minus one washing machine, of course.

Shuichi hummed a bit as he wrapped a black (supposedly the only color the local store had - he'd refused to go out until Yuki got him something to hide his hair with) bandana around his head. Wincing a bit as he knotted it in the back, the singer was kind of happy that the cover did manage to hide the large lump caused by the gurney wheel along with his swirled hair. Shuichi had been literally walking on eggshells the entire day so far - and was more than a little happy that nothing bad had happened.

Of course Yuki had a different opinion on the matter, since he was the one who had doused the grease fire at breakfast, but Shuichi had rationalized that nearly torching the kitchen wasn't a new experience for him, so it didn't count. The novelist had stepped out to start the car after ordering Shuichi to stay put until he came back. The singer hoped it was because the man wanted to let the car cool down first given the doctor's orders about avoiding too much heat exposure and getting plenty of water - but it was more than likely because the blond wanted a few extra minutes of peace and quiet before they hit the mall.

It had cooled down considerably since Friday, something Shuichi was more than a little grateful for, and the temperature hovered just a hair above 70 degrees (F). Still, he wasn't taking any chances and chose to wear a pair of faded short shorts and a black tank top in order to keep as cool as possible. The temperature was supposed to drop considerably during the night, but he knew they'd be back home before the sun even thought about setting.

Yuki really hated the mall.

He wondered how many outfits he'd get to try on this time.

Shuichi was still thinking when Yuki opened the front door. The blonde regarded his idiot lover for a few minutes, lost in thought, head titled cutely to one side with his nose scrunched up…

So cute.

Yuki scowled. Thoughts that innocent about Shuichi, for him at least, usually ended up heading a bit more on the perverted side.

Next thing he'd start thinking how tan the boy's arms were getting, how flat his stomach had become, how muscles were starting to become more noticeable; especially on the singer's shapely little legs…wrapped around his waist…

Shit.

Shaking himself slightly, Yuki managed to keep from snatching the pink-haired singer up and hauling his lithe ass straight to the bedroom.

Must go to mall.

Must buy clothes.

Yuki blinked.

_What the hell does he need clothes for? I'll just end up ripping them off. Yes. He should just go naked all the time and save me the trouble…_

A feral grin spread across his face as Yuki continued to consider the options of a naked-all-the-time Shuichi, his pants tightening with every passing second.

"….ki.."

"…Yuki..."

"YUKI!"

"WHAT!"

Shuichi stepped back from his lover with a concerned look. "You like, completely spaced out for a few minutes. I was getting worried. And you had that grin on your face again."

Yuki scoffed and started out the front door, pissed now that he'd have to walk around with a new 'problem' having popped up. With the dislocated wrist and head injury, not to mention the dehydration, any kind of 'strenuous activity' was off-limits for at least a week.

A week of pure hell in Yuki's opinion.

"I was not grinning." The blond said flatly.

"Were to!" Shuichi said as they reached the elevator. "It's that look you get whenever I ask you to…you know…"

Stepping inside, Yuki backed the singer into the corner the second the doors shut on them.

"No. I don't know. Whenever you ask me to what? Hmm?" he purred into the singer's ear.

Shuichi liquefied into an undistinguishable pile of blushing Shuichi-goo. By the time Yuki was done talking and suggesting, Shuichi was ready to take the stairs back up to their apartment and not leave for the rest of the day. The doors opened and Yuki stepped out towards the car, pleased at the fact that at least if he had to have a 'problem' today, he was no longer alone with it.

They reached the mall in one piece, though it wasn't an easy task. The singer was more than a little pissed off about Yuki purposefully giving him dirty thoughts that couldn't be acted on, and had done a wonderful job of using his scantily clothed body and the air conditioner for pay back.

He threw in the joyful moaning for added effect.

If the cops ever caught up to their car it was going to be one hell of a speeding ticket.

Shuichi couldn't be his usual overly hyper bubbly self - it not only made him dizzy from bouncing too much, but also hurt his scrapped up knees a lot; and his wrist, and his back.

Being himself just hurt, damn it.

Though Yuki seemed semi-pleased about that fact as the two calmly (well, semi-calmly, Shuichi was injured - not dead after all.) walked through the mall in search of an appropriate store to start shopping in.

Two hours, six bags, and five stores later they were sitting in the food court taking a quick break, sipping on water (to which Yuki had commented the need for alcohol to be served to people dragged into the hell-hole against their will like he was) in order to keep up with doctor's orders. The past hour had literally flown by for him and Yuki was actually a little pleased at having come. Coming with Shuichi while he looked for clothes meant the singer asked his opinion.

Which meant Yuki could keep the teen from buying anything that would flat-out embarrass him to even have hanging in the back of his closet with five layers of duct tape hiding it. It hadn't been easy mixing their tastes together: Shuichi had ended up buying a few things that Yuki didn't care for, but relented in exchange on getting a few nice outfits that didn't scream 'have your way with me' while still managing to look sexy enough to show off what Yuki had caught.

That's what the novelist had told him at the time anyway.

Really he just liked seeing what he could get away with and how far from Shuichi's regular fashion he could pull the teen before getting a flat-out refusal.

It didn't seem like very far. But sitting in the food court, watching the way the singer's short shorts seemed a little extra short today; Yuki started to wonder if maybe an outfit actually existed that Shuichi couldn't turn into a slut costume - through his eyes anyway. The boy was just too se…

Damn it.

He could feel the blood leaking from one head straight to the other.

_Okay. Don't panic. Think of something that'll completely turn you off. Think think think think think…_

Somehow just trying to think of a thought to help cool his libido reminded Yuki of a scene from the movie 'Austin Powers'.

And the line 'Margaret Thatcher naked on a cold day' slowly entered his head.

Yuki stood up abruptly, looking slightly green.

"I'm heading to the bathroom. Stay here."

Shuichi, having been more than amused in watching his lover's face as it contorted ever so slightly with each passing thought - a new game he'd invented after discovering the blond usually ended up spacing out in public in which he tried to figure out what Yuki was thinking - was jolted from his own musings at his lover's statement. He watched the author head off and slowly started sipping his water again.

_Riiiinngggggg._

Digging through his pocket Shuichi fished out his cell phone and flipped the display open.

"HIRROOOOOO!" he screamed out, instantly recognizing the number brought up by the caller id.

After placing the phone back to his ear, Hiro grinned. "I guess you're feeling better and I don't have to come back to Tokyo to check on you, huh?"

"Don't tell me it got out in the papers!"

Hiro laughed. "No, just the grapevine. Tohma told Mika, who told Tatsuha, who told Ryuichi, who told K, who mentioned it to Suguru, who I happened to call to ask about some music I left behind at the studio Friday."

Shuichi tried not to follow the long explanation. Thinking made his head hurt.

More than usual.

"So. Having fun with Ayaka?" he asked.

Hiro rolled his eyes; he could practically see Shuichi's narrowed eyes and bobbing eyebrows in the suggestive tone of voice over the phone.

"More fun than you from what I hear."

"Aw, Hiro! That's not hard to do considering!"

The redhead laughed. "I guess not. But seriously Shu, how are you? I freaked when Suguru told me about your nearly taking a dive out the hospital window."

Shuichi shuddered slightly, remembering the gurney. "Yeah. It would have been scary if I had been conscious." Little hearts started floating around his head. "But Yuki saved me."

Hiro grinned, listening for several minutes as his friend started singing 'Yuki saaaavved me…Yuki loooovvesss me…Yuki saaavveedd me…' before interrupting.

"Alright, alright already. Spare me. I gotta go alright? Keep yourself out of trouble and I'll see you when I get back to Tokyo."

"Sure thing, Hiro! Have fun!" Shuichi grinned, giving a 'v' sign as if the guitarist could see it.

"You too, Shu! Bye!"

"Bye!"

Grinning madly, Shuichi hung up the phone and shoved it back in his pocket. He started to reach for his drink and suddenly came to a startling realization.

He was nowhere near the food court anymore.

"What the…."

Many people have weird habits. Some people bite their nails when they're nervous, some walk or talk in the their sleep.

Shuichi, as he was now discovering…

Apparently he walks while he talks on the phone.

Cords would have kept this from becoming apparent any other time. But now, it was painfully obvious. Especially since he wasn't even in the mall anymore.

Actually, looking around, Shuichi realized he wasn't quite sure where he was. Yuki had taken him to a mall downtown, insisting that they carried 'sturdier' washing machines in the center next door. Having never really been downtown a whole lot, and especially not recently, Shuichi was, well…

He was completely lost.

_That's okay! I've got my cell phone after all!_

Whipping the device out, he quickly dialed Yuki's cell phone number. Two rings later the novelist picked up.

"Where the hell are you? I told you not to move damn it!"

"Sorry, Yuki! Hiro called and I wasn't paying attention."

"Moron! Where are you at?"

"Umm…outside?"

"What? What the hell are you doi-"

"Yuki?"

"Yuuukkiiii?"

Pulling the phone back, Shuichi was surprised, well shocked would be better, to find the cell phone dead.

The batteries had just run out. Looking around quickly, the singer couldn't spot a payphone anywhere. Nor could he see the mall. And no one passing by looked all that friendly. Actually most of the people looked kind of…scary…

Feeling hopelessly lost, and realizing his bad luck wasn't over yet, Shuichi did the only thing he could think of.

He started bawling his eyes out.


	6. Monday Part II

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 6: Monday Part II_

Standing in the middle of the sidewalk crying took up a few minutes of time for Shuichi. It was only after he started hiccupping that he had an epiphany.

At least he was pretty sure it was an epiphany. Otherwise it was just a brain fart.

At any rate, Shuichi managed to pull himself together. He was Shindou Shuichi after all! Famous lead singer of the ever-popular Bad Luck! He'd tracked Yuki all the way to New York, down to the apartment and even the floor the blond novelist was on! He could find his way back to the mall with no sweat!

He didn't seem phased that his maniacal laughter was scaring the locals. Hell, even the gang members were crossing the street to keep away from him.

A few minutes later and a kid in a dog suit was ambling down the side walk on three 'legs' (one 'leg' being held up to the sing…dog's chest.), stopping every few steps to 'sniff' the air before continuing on his way. Pretty much everyone was getting out of way. Lord only knew what crazy people might be carrying on them. Shuichi didn't pay them any attention as he continued to sniff the air for Yuki's familiar scent. He would find the novelist and the mall. Oh yes he would.

**Meanwhile…**

Yuki stared at the cell phone in his hands.

_The number you are trying to reach is not in service. Please hang up and try again._

Shit.

_The brat's cell phone must have gone dead again. When the hell was that kid going to remember to charge his phone BEFORE the batteries died?_

Yuki sighed. This was not how he'd imagined their trip to the mall turning out. He was tired, angry, worried… Well, not really worried per say but… Oh, screw it, he was worried. Not to mention that even the most debilitating thoughts about Margaret Thatcher hadn't withered his problem. When he'd returned from the bathroom he'd been determined to throw the doctor's orders out the window and take his pink-haired lover home to give them both some much needed relief.

And now here he was, standing in the middle of the food court surrounded by shopping bags, a raging boner, and no idiot lover in sight.

This can't get much worse.

"OH MY GOD! IT'S EIRI YUKI!"

Yuki whipped around his eyes widening as a mass stampede of fan girls suddenly appeared out of no where, leaving large trails of dust and trampled men behind them as they desperately raced towards him. He managed to snatch Shuichi's purchases up, though he wasn't sure why he bothered, before turning and bolting towards the exit.

_Shit, shit, shit! Where can I go? I'll never make it to my car in time!_

Despite his usually calm demeanor, Yuki was, for fail of a stronger word, absolutely terrified right at the moment. The pack of fan girls was slowly descending upon him like he was a pizza at a Weight Watchers convention. He continued to run, casting backwards glances every now and then, occasionally zigzagging different directions as girls who had obviously lettered in track and field tried to tackle him; smirking slightly as each one missed and hit the pavement before disappearing under the thundering hoofs of their fellow rabid fan girl friends.

He knew better though.

It the mind of a rabid fan girl the word 'friend' does not exist when on the chase.

Bolting down the sidewalk he knocked over several people, nearly tripping over a large dog that was in the middle of the sidewalk before he bolted down an alleyway and jumped into a dumpster.

A few seconds later he heard a scream, the words unintelligible from his current hiding spot, and the sounds of pounding footsteps slowly retreated.

He didn't know what or whom the girls had seen and suddenly bolted off to catch, but man did he ever pity that person right now.

**A few minutes earlier…**

Shuichi paused in his sniffing as an odd sound suddenly reached his ears. Was that thunder? It was going to rain now? Before he could look up to check the sky, a foot connected with his slightly out stretched leg and he yelped in response.

Didn't people watch where they were going! He was a cute little dog! People were supposed to see him, say 'awww' and try to find his owner damn it!

_Yuuukkkiii…_

He sighed and looked up to check the sky, only to come face to well, almost face, with a large horde of screaming, drooling, and running fan girls. Shuichi never stood a chance as the girls tore past him in pursuit of some poor fool celebrity who had forgotten to wear a disguise. When the smoke finally cleared, it revealed a near flat Shuichi; his dog costume was in tatters around him, and several different shoe styles of footprints stamped into his twitching body, including a high heel print in his crotch.

Moaning softly, Shuichi managed to sit up and rub his aching head.

"ACK! My bandanna! Where's the bandanna Yuki gave me?"

Searching around the sidewalk desperately, he didn't hear the surprised cry of one girl as she turned, having immediately picked up on the word 'Yuki' with her sharp fan girl senses.

"SHINDOU SHUICHI!"

Shuichi whirled around, his violet eyes becoming frightening large as the girls suddenly turned, much like a flock of birds, and started back his way; screams of "SHUICHI" and "BAD LUCK" echoing across the buildings around them.

Without hesitation the singer jumped to his feet and bolted, desperately praying that he'd be able to out run the horde behind him. Racing down the street, he took a short cut through a gas station parking lot and some how ended up tearing through an automatic car wash.

Which, of course, was running.

Dashing out the other side, he turned back briefly as sudden cries of pain and defeat filled his ears. Some of the rabid fan girls had flocked through with him, having come to the end of the wash as the wax cycle was running.

_Ouchies._

Shuichi's clothes felt like lead as he ran down the sidewalk, water and suds flying behind him. The wet shirt, though it wasn't much, was weighing him down a little. If he was to outrun the fan girls he not only needed to be as fast as possible and light on his feet, but he needed a distraction as well…

_Idea!_

Stripping off his soaked shirt as he ran, Shuichi turned and launched the wadded wet garment as far as he could. He watched, slightly amused and mostly horrified, as the horde of girls pounced on the shirt, biting and kicking to be the one to get such a personal souvenir from the lead singer. Having ripped the black tee to shreds the girls turned, nearly zombie like, and began the chase again.

_SHIT!_

Shuichi left a trail of fire blazing down the middle of the sidewalk as he hit a new land speed record. The last thing he wanted or needed was to be quartered by a pack of rabid fans. He circled the block, stopping finally to try and catch his breath in front of a large department store. A scream tore out and he groaned. The girls were still looking for him! Glancing around quickly, he threw himself into the store.

A few minutes' later, around thirty teenage girls and bored housewives trotted past the store searching vainly for the pink-haired singer they so adored. They ignored the people around them who were giving them curious looks and crossing the street to avoid them and, for once, ignored the fashionable display of the oh-so-famous clothing store they were standing in front of.

One girl, an obvious obsessed rabid fan girl (one can tell by the spiked pink hair, full Bad Luck gear, and 'I heart Shuichi' tattoo) turned to the mob behind her and screamed,

"EVERYONE SPLIT UP! THEY COULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN FAR!"

The pack broke off into groups instantly; no planning or strategizing needed, and began an immediate area canvas for the two missing celebrities.

Shuichi sighed with relief as the last of the girls disappeared from view. Peeking around, he couldn't see anyone in sight and carefully removed himself from the clothing store's display window.

Hide in plain sight; such a wonderful phrase. He casually walked out the door, intent on beginning his search for Yuki and the mall once again, when a loud screeching sound and the words 'FREEZE' suddenly stopped him in his tracks.

Looking down, the singer belatedly moaned the fact that he'd forgotten to take off the cardigan sweater and cargo pants he'd taken off the mannequin in the window when he took it's place.

Shuichi could feel his eye twitch in annoyance.

This week was starting to seriously piss him off now.


	7. Monday Part III

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 7: Monday Part III_

Carefully climbing from the dumpster, Yuki gave a sigh of relief. Not only had the rabid fan girls disappeared, but he'd somehow managed to land in a dumpster that was filled with trash that was actually bagged up. So, to his surprise and happiness, he wasn't covered with filth and he didn't stink; well, not too bad anyway. He very carefully and very quietly snuck to the end of the alleyway and peeked around the corner.

Not a fan girl in sight.

_Yes!_

It took a few minutes, but he managed to find his sunglasses and a baseball hat that Shuichi had bought. Sure it was bright yellow with Spongebob Squarepants' face on it, but at this point he was more than willing to risk humiliation if it meant not having to practice his track skills anymore. As nonchalantly as possible, Yuki walked out of the alley and headed back towards the mall. A few blocks down the street a small explosion suddenly blasted out and he turned around, watching as thick billows of black smoke erupted from a store. He debated for a few minutes before heading in the explosion's direction.

**Meanwhile…**

"FREEZE!"

Shuichi mentally cursed himself and the rent-a-cop behind him. He had no idea if the man had a gun or one of those goofy taser things pointed at him right now.

But then again, he figured getting shot at isn't anything new. So why in the hell was he listening to this minimum wage making moron?

Turning around, he received another 'I'm a bad ass' sounding 'FREEZE'.

Taser. Peachy.

"Just hold it right there, miss!"

Shuichi stared at the guy in front of him for a few seconds, his mouth hanging open in shock. Did this idiot just call him a miss?

"Excuse me?"

"I said hold it right there, damn it! I don't want to have to use this thing on a woman! So just keep still!"

_Alright. That's it._

Shuichi grabbed the bottom of the sweater and quickly yanked it over his head. He heard a scream and a thud as he did so, and it was only after he pulled the garment over his eyes did he find out the cashier had fainted.

"Do I look like a woman to you buddy?"

The security guard cocked his head in consideration for a minute.

"I thought you were rather flat-chested…"

Shuichi muttered a few derogatory comments under his breath and proceeded to leave.

"Hey! I didn't say you could go anywhere! You're under arrest, man!"

He spun around. "What? What for!"

The guard rolled his eyes. "Stealing, duh."

Shuichi looked down at the pants he was still wearing. Oh yeah. Duh indeed. He undid the pants, even as the guard protested, and took them off, revealing the shorts underneath. Picking up the sweater he tossed both to the guard and sighed, trying to calm the anger this week had riled up in him.

"Look, I wasn't trying to steal them. I was being chased by a mob of crazy girls and I ducked in here to hide. I just forgot I put those on to disguise myself, alright? Can I just go? I'm so totally lost and…"

"Whatever man, I've heard it all."

Shuichi watched as the guard picked up the phone, probably to call the police.

_I can't go to jail!_

So, in a moment of desperation (but mostly fueled by his increasing anger), Shindou Shuichi did the only thing he could think to do.

He pulled a bazooka from his pants pocket and shouldered it, aiming it at the dialing guard.

Said guard pretty much froze. He might have wet himself, but Shuichi wasn't feeling vindictive enough to care at the moment. He just really wanted to go home.

"Okay buddy. Let's just calm down…"

"Calm down?"

So the wrong thing to say…

"DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH TODAY? ALL THIS WEEK? LOOK AT ME! DO I LOOK LIKE I'M HAVING THE BEST TIME? DO YOU THINK I WANT TO BE AIMING A BAZOOKA AT YOU IN ORDER TO GET YOU TO LISTEN TO ME! DAMN IT I JUST WANT YU-"

The rest of the sentence was cut off as, in his angry rambling, Shuichi managed to somehow pull the trigger.

Let's hear it for K who thought this would be a great birthday gift…

Fortunately, the guard, scared out of his wits, had grabbed the unconscious saleslady and taken off already. The kick back on the bazooka sent the little J-pop singer flying and the next thing he knew he was across the street looking over at the flaming, smoking mess that was once a high-priced clothing store.

_Oh shit._

**Meanwhile…**

Yuki stopped a few feet from the store. Whatever happened here had been big and extremely damaging. It was only logical that Shuichi was not only nearby, but that the pink-haired idiot had somehow been involved in the fiasco. He tried looking around in hopes of catching a glimpse of his missing lover, but the thick clouds of smoke were making it difficult to see very far. He was ready to give it up and head back to the car, when a rather odd sensation suddenly traveled up his body. Looking down, Yuki was greeted by a large dog that was standing on three legs.

Yuki watched, somewhat amused at the irony, as the dog finished up and trotted off, content to have marked such a foul smelling new territory.

The dog crossed the street, all the while as Yuki watched with little thoughts of revenge and animal cruelty laws bouncing back and forth in his mind, until a flash of pink caught his eye.

Ignoring the very disgusting smell and feel of his pants leg, Yuki bolted across the street and finally, finally found his misguided, now shirtless and crying lover.

"Shuichi!"

Violet eyes snapped up, staring in disbelief as the man he'd been searching for suddenly appeared, heading his way. Shuichi jumped up, a smile automatically dawning his face and he leapt forward.

"YYYYUUUKKKIIIIIIIII!"

The author landed on the pavement with a thud; he was annoyed, yet greatly relieved to be glomped to the ground by his idiot lover again.

Shuichi then lifted up and promptly began kissing the blond for all he was worth.

Not that Yuki really minded…

The two continued their make-out session until sirens began blaring in the distance and Shuichi pulled back with a gasp.

Yuki sighed. "What did you do this time?"

"Umm…I didn't mean to?"

The sirens started growing closer.

"Should we be running?"

Shuichi laughed nervously. "Don't be silly, Yuki. Besides, I doubt they'd even recognize…"

"THERE HE IS!"

Whipping their heads around, the two men saw a security guard talking to a police officer while pointing their direction.

"You know, on second thought, running sounds really good right now."

Not really wanting to return to jail so soon, Yuki agreed.

"Think you can beat him to the car?"

"Depends, is your license plate still on the front instead of the back?"

"Yep."

"No problem."

The two stood up slowly, acting, as far the police officer could tell, like they were just waiting for him to come and talk to them…

Until they bolted like gazelles from a lion in the opposite direction.

"HEY! FREEZE!"

Seeing Shuichi was getting ahead, Yuki picked up the pace and handed the teen his shopping bags.

"You…want 'em…you…carry 'em…" he huffed.

Shuichi made a face but took the bags. "You…wouldn't have so…much trouble…keeping up if you'd…just stop…smoking…"

"Shut it…brat…"

"I SAID FREEZE!"

Hearing the voice drawing closer, the two instantly ran faster.

"Less talking…more running…" Yuki panted out.

_Duh._

It was all Shuichi could think as they continued their escape with a very pissed off police officer hot on their heels.


	8. Tuesday Part I

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 8: Tuesday_

"This is all your fault."

"And I said I was sorry, Yuki! More than a few times!"

"Idiot."

"Besides…you look so cute and-"

"If you want to live to see tomorrow, you'll shut up now."

"Sorry."

Yuki sighed. Despite their best attempts at making like Olympic track stars, the two had never made it back to the car. With their stamina, or as Shuichi put it later 'Yuki's lack of stamina due to smoking', failing, the two had realized they would be caught long before they reached the car, much less got in it and hauled ass away. So Shuichi, being the ever-resourceful man that he is, had grabbed his lover and dove into the mall. He thought it mildly convenient that had happened to be right in front of the mall (again) and that the crowd had somehow gotten worse since they had left (not by choice, of course). Yuki had berated the somewhat pinked-hair idiot's idea until he realized that, in the crowd, the police officer chasing them had no chance of keeping up.

This had lightened his mood considerably.

Of course, they hadn't counted on the police officer alerting mall security about two suspects having hid out somewhere within the mall, one with no shirt on and the other smelling like urine…

They had ended up spending the rest of Monday running around, trying desperately to not get caught and eventually ended up hiding out in a janitor's closet, figuring they'd be safe there until later when they could sneak out of the mall and head home.

Murphy's law, which seems to more than amply apply to Shuichi's luck this week, choose that moment to take effect.

Stated law being, of course, that anything that can go wrong will.

Which is how one Shindou Shuichi and one Eiri Yuki found themselves locked inside a small, cramped, and smelly janitor's closet.

It was two a.m. Tuesday morning.

Yuki had considered calling for help, only to discover his cell phone was missing.

A short distance away, a young teenage girl picked up a shiny little cell phone from in front of a dumpster. Thinking it odd, at first, that someone would throw it away, all thoughts were pushed aside when she discovered it hadn't been shut off yet. Hell, if who ever it used to belong to didn't want it, she'd put it to good use! Dialing the operator, she was quickly given the International codes for America…

More than likely he'd dropped it somewhere along the way. It was probably in a million pieces by now.

"Hello Amy? Yes it's Meika! I know I can't believe it either! (Insert girlish squeals here) No, no mom didn't relent and let me call…you'll never believe how I managed to call you! How's life in Florida?"

He shrugged off the wave of doom that suddenly crept up his spine and sighed again. Damn it, the pants may have been baggy on Shuichi, but they were tight as hell on him. If it weren't for the dog piss smell on his own pants, he wouldn't have even considered the moron's offer to wear some of the clothes in the still-tightly-clutched shopping bags Shuichi had with him.

Yuki vaguely wondered why they made cargo pants in pink in the first place.

And they clashed horribly with the yellow hat…

_Oh God I sound like…_

"Yuki! YUKI!"

"WHAT!"

"You were staring off into space. Something wrong?"

Yuki sighed. Again. It was like a game now. Seeing how many times he could sigh in an hour.

The count was eight so far this time around.

"No brat, nothing wrong besides the obvious."

The two remained silent for the next half-hour, neither able to get comfortable enough to sleep or really rest cramped inside a small janitor's closet, surrounded by chemicals.

Which, of course, meant Yuki couldn't smoke. No matter how much he really…really...REALLY…needed a cigarette right now, he wasn't about to risk lighting up in a small barely ventilated room surrounded by dozens of flammable chemicals.

"Hey, Yuki?"

"Hm."

"I'm hungry."

Sigh. "I know, I know. There's nothing I can do about it."

Silence.

"Hey, Yuki?"

_God help me…_

"Hm?"

"Umm...did you happen to bring my pain medication with you?"

Yuki looked up at his lover, just noticing (and barely, considering there was only one very small, very dim light bulb to illuminate the closet with) the scrunched up look of pain flashing across the singer's face as he absently rubbed his wrist.

Way too cute. He could practically feel the ice cracking and slowly dripping off his heart.

"Is it hurting again?" he asked softly.

Shuichi nodded, sniffling slightly and bowing his head. "I think I tweaked it when I was waving the bazooka around."

Yuki rolled his eyes. "Moron. That idiotic stunt of yours is what landed us stuck in here to begin with!" He heard a few more sniffles escape the bowed singer and stifled yet another sigh. "Come here."

It was amusing how Shuichi didn't hesitant in the slightest to obey. So submissive…

_Damn it; keep those thoughts out. DOWN BOY! DOWN!_

Shuichi curled up in his lap, leaning his head on Yuki's shoulder and sniffling again. The novelist took his lover's wrist in one hand and began to very carefully massage the still wrapped appendage.

Which made him think of massaging other hidden appendages…causing him to moan aloud…

Especially since Shuichi was still wearing those short shorts of his…

"Yuki? Are you okay?"

The blond grimaced slightly at feeling the singer's hot breath caressing his neck when he spoke and suppressed another rising groan. They were not going to last until morning with their clothes in tact at this rate.

"Yuki?"

Shuichi sat up as he spoke, causing his breath to glide across Yuki's ear every-so-slightly.

A feral growl escaped Yuki's lips then and he snapped his eyes open to stare at a very confused, but now slightly aroused, Shuichi staring back at him.

Yuki found the man to be way too cute to resist anymore.

Shuichi found a new way to stop feeling pain.

And somewhere in Japan, a teenage girl found that whoever dumped their cell phone had forgotten to have the service disconnected.

Much to her and half of America's delight.


	9. Tuesday Part II

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 9: Tuesday Part II_

Yuki leaned his head back against the wall, closed his eyes, and sighed.

Again.

The two had found it almost impossible to do anything worthwhile in the cramped and smelly confines of the janitor's closet they were still locked in and both men had been forced to stretch out several times in order to keep all their limbs from going numb.

Of course, almost was a key word.

It was awkward, slightly painful, and at one point not worth the effort; but he found Shuichi to be…surprisingly agile.

Much to his delight.

Yuki smiled slightly, stroking the swirly pink hair of the smaller man cradled against his chest before letting his hand fall onto Shuichi's re-clothed back.

Neither had wanted to go through the experience of having the door suddenly open and some stranger finding them naked and asleep on one another.

He felt the singer sigh happily and shift in his arms, snuggling deeper into his embrace; only to wince slightly before slowly pulling his still-injured wrist out from underneath him. Yuki took the bandaged wrist in his hand, gently rubbing at it as Shuichi curled against again, leaving his lack arm to the novelist's tender ministrations.

The next few minutes were quiet, giving the blonde ample opportunity to relish in the warmth provided by his slumbering lover; the gentle rise and fall of Shuichi's chest against his own, and the subtle beating of the younger man's heart. Yuki kissed the pink top of hair softly before setting Shuichi's injured arm against his chest and brought his hand around to join the other. Interlocking his fingers, Yuki hugged the body against his for a few seconds before relaxing his limbs and allowing his eyes to rack over the adorable sight cradled within his embrace.

"Why do you put up with me?" he mumbled quietly.

"Because I love you."

Yuki started at the quiet reply and looked down to see a pair of half-lidded violet eyes staring up at him.

"Brat. You were awake all this time?"

Shuichi yawned, stretching his limbs a little and sat up to get a better look at his miffed lover.

"Kind of."

They stared at each other for a long time; the silence filling the small space becoming uncomfortable before Yuki suddenly pulled the singer down and against him again.

"Go to sleep. Otherwise I'll have to listen to your whiny butt complain all day about how tired you are."

Shuichi nodded slowly, not really sure what, if anything, to say next. Silence fell again, neither man quite knowing what to talk about but each being unable to fall asleep. Unable to take anymore, Shuichi gently sat up and pressed his lips against the blond's in a soft kiss.

"I really do love you, Yuki." He said quietly, touching their foreheads together and staring into the unreadable golden eyes of his lover.

"Why?"

Shuichi blinked. Yuki had never said anything to his declarations of love, at least, not anything like this before.

"For you." He said simply.

"Would you care to explain that?"

Ignoring the guff tone, Shuichi did just that.

"I love you for you. For the little things you do when you think I'm not paying attention. All the little things that tell me you do care, no matter what you actually say."

Yuki regarded the pink-haired singer for a few minutes until his curiosity won out.

"What 'little things' do you think you're talking about, moron?"

Shuichi smiled and leaned back down, pressing his head against Yuki's chest as he answered softly.

"Like the way you leave an umbrella by the door when it's raining out and then have a towel waiting for me when I get home because you know I'll forget to take the umbrella anyway. And the way you always cover me with a blanket, even though you were angry enough to make me sleep on the couch for the night."

"The way you get jealous enough to storm to Hiro's and bring me home even though I was only over there because you threw me out in the first place. The way you hover around the kitchen when I say I'm going to cook because you know I'll hurt myself eventually…"

Yuki couldn't help but smile at that one. Yes, his little idiot was an EMT's dream when he started cooking.

Shuichi sat up again, smiling softly at Yuki as he continued.

"The way you chased after a runaway gurney trying to save me. The way you grabbed me to keep me from falling over the edge."

Shuichi cupped the blond's cheek, leaning in and stealing a gentle kiss before whispering against Yuki's lips.

"The way you smile. Just for me."

Yuki leaned forward, closing the short distance between them and capturing the singer's lips with is own. One hand snaked up, burying into the pink locks' of his lover's as Yuki caressed the soft lips with his. He probed no further, feeling the swell of emotion and electricity by mere contact alone; the kiss was soft and gentle, conveying feelings neither man would ever be able to properly place into words. When they broke apart, each man was left slightly dazed by the intensity, yet surprising gentleness, of the joining. Shuichi's hand was still resting on Yuki's cheek and the blonde cupped it with his own, giving the singer the smile he so loved.

"The way…you…kiss me…" Shuichi finally breathed out, his voice a bare whisper, causing Yuki to only smile more at the dazed and breathless tone.

The novelist pulled him close again, wrapping his arms around Shuichi and kissing the top of his head again, more firmly this time.

"I'm never going to be able to get rid of you, am I?"

"Not in a thousand life times." Shuichi said through a yawn, snuggling against the older man with a happy sigh.

Yuki's smile remained as he let one hand stroke the singer's back, the other holding him in place. An old memory tugged at him then, one from his time years ago in New York. It was a line he heard from an old street preacher, 'miracles come in all shapes and sizes.'. His response now was the same as then; the sarcastic tone of a hurried adolescent was gone though, filled instead with a sense of recognition and appreciation as he whispered quietly into the pink mop of hair under his chin.

"Hallelujah."


	10. Tuesday Part III

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 10: Tuesday Part III_

A very strange and extremely annoying grating noise met Yuki's ears when he finally joined the waking world several hours later. Grumbling slightly, he shifted around against the wall behind him and cracked an eye open. The light bulb had gone out, leaving only what little light that filtered through the crack of the door to illuminate the janitor's closet.

"What the hell are you doing?" he mumbled, seeing the dim form of Shuichi at the door.

Startled, the singer whirled around, dropping whatever had been in his hand and cursing slightly as he blindly groped across the floor for the object.

"Getting us out of here." He said, his hand wandering around in the dark.

Yuki inhaled as the singer's hand closed around something that was most definitely not going to get them out of here anytime soon.

He could practically see the Shuichi's blush in the dark.

"Sorry Yuki."

"You could do something about that."

"Yuuukkiiii…"

"What? Your hand's already there!"

The novelist couldn't help but grin as Shuichi pulled back and continued his search.

"You're such a pervert." The teen mumbled.

He opened his mouth to reply but was cut off as the singer suddenly stood up, a loud exclamation of 'hell yes' ringing through the closet. Curious, Yuki watched (as best he could anyway) as Shuichi stumbled to the door and began making the weird grating sound again.

"What exactly are you doing?"

"…In…just a…ow…second you'll…"

The door suddenly popped open, streaming dim hallway lights into the closet, causing both men to squint their eyes against it.

"See!" the singer exclaimed in joy, turning around to reveal a screwdriver in his hand.

Yuki stared at the screwdriver for a minute then looked at the door where Shuichi had popped the joints out.

"Where did you find that." The blond growled out.

Tired, dirty, sleep-deprived, and now bleeding from his already injured arm, Shuichi narrowed his eyes and stepped forward to hover over his lover.

"Don't you take that tone with me Uesugi Eiri! I found that damn thing under the cabinet after you practically threw me off and onto it while you were asleep. Now get your ass up and let's get the hell out of here!"

Yuki could only stare as Shuichi grabbed his bags and turned around, half-stomping down the hallway. He finally stumbled to his feet, wincing against his nearly numb legs, before limping off after the pink-haired singer. Shuichi had stopped near the end of the hallway, the sounds of shoppers telling Yuki that it was at least early enough that the mall had opened again. Glancing at his watch, he noted it was already ten in the morning.

He grimaced.

Shuichi was hell when he didn't have breakfast, especially if he didn't sleep well.

Walking up behind his lover, Yuki scooped a few of the bags from the younger man. It was an effort, he told himself, to hide the hideous pink pants he was still wearing. Shuichi sighed slightly and slumped his shoulder before turning a weary eye to the novelist beside him.

"Sorry, Yuki. I just-"

"Don't." the blond interjected. "It's been one hell of a night for both of us. Let's just get home, take a long hot bath, and get some real sleep."

Shuichi gave a small smile and nodded.

The trip home was quiet, if for no other reason than because the trip to the car had been embarrassing as hell. Walking around in pink cargo pants and a white dress shirt with a yellow bandana and sunglasses on, Yuki had felt like an ad for 'dorks R us'. Shuichi had just been thankful that the security guards had either not been on shift the night before or didn't remember chasing after them.

Finally making it home, the two stumbled inside and nearly collapsed into bed. Yuki awoke first a few hours later, feeling disgusting but relatively rested. He left Shuichi undisturbed as he climbed into the shower, gladly stripping himself of the hideous pants and bandana. One hour, three cigarettes, two cups of coffee, and a fresh change of clothes later, Yuki was starting to feel like his old self again. Grabbing the paper and mail, he settled himself in the kitchen, grimacing as the front headline which captured the destroyed clothing store greeted his eyes.

The article rambled on about terrorist attacks and possible political motivations behind the strike, but thankfully gave no mention or description of himself or Shuichi. He vaguely noted the shower turning on as he began sorting the mail and a few minutes later decided to fix something to eat. If nothing else it would lighten his lover's mood to a more tolerable level.

He whipped up a simple dish, scooping it onto plates just as Shuichi stumbled into the kitchen drying his hair in a towel as he attempted to walk. He froze as the smell of food reached under the towel and grabbed the plate before Yuki could even set it on the table. The novelist watch in mild fascination as the singer practically inhaled the dish, sitting back and patting his stomach with a satisfied grin when he was done. Shaking his head and smirking, Yuki continued to eat at a normal pace as he scanned the mail more closely.

"Yuki."

"Hm."

"…Yuki."

"Hm?"

Getting no further response the novelist looked up, slightly perplexed at the sight of his lover. Shuichi was sitting in his chair, head titled back, staring straight up at the ceiling with a rather blank look on his face.

"Shuichi?"

"It's…spinning again…"

Curious (fuck that – he was worried) at this unusual statement, Yuki stood up and walked to the singer's side.

"What are you talking about?"

Shuichi raised a slightly shaking hand to the ceiling and pointed.

"It's spinning again." He said quietly, his voice sounding oddly distant.

Yuki cupped the younger man's face and forced it down, staring into the glassy violet eyes for a minute before heading off to grab his coat and shoes. Shuichi stared after him, confused by how the blond seemed to dance around and spin as he walked.

"Yu…ki?"

"Come on." The novelist said, taking his lover's arm in hand and gently prodding the man along.

"Back to the hospital again."


	11. Tuesday Part IV

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 11: Tuesday Part IV_

"There you are!"

Looking up after lighting his cigarette, Yuki saw one of two people heading his direction. He leaned back against the hospital's brick wall and exhaled as his sister and Tohma marched over.

"What happened?" the brunette demanded, her eyes racking over Yuki's body in an attempt to find something physically wrong.

"Shuichi." He said calmly, taking another drag. "He kept saying the ceiling was spinning, so I brought him to have him checked out."

"Oh." Mika started to relax a bit. "Next time tell people that instead of just saying 'I'm going to the hospital' and hanging up!"

Yuki rolled his eyes. "I didn't hang up. The phone went dead."

He tried not to wince at the irony of his own phone's battery dying, especially not after chewing Shuichi out for failing to charge his phone before going to the mall.

"So how is Mr. Shindou?" Tohma interjected.

"Sedated."

Seeing both their eyebrows raise in question, Yuki inhaled on his cigarette and continued.

"He was kind of out of it on the way here, but once he realized where we were at he started freaking out. So they had to sedate him."

"Ah." Tohma said, nodding. "Because of the gurney incident."

"I would imagine, yes."

"Is there anything we can do, Eiri?" the blond asked quietly.

Shaking his head and pulling himself off the wall, Yuki ground his cigarette into the concrete and turned to head back inside.

"Count my gray hairs maybe." he muttered as the sliding doors opened.

Having imagined things couldn't possibly get any worse, Shuichi was greeted with the realization that yes, they can, as soon as he opened his eyes. Staring up at the white ceiling of the all-too-familiar hospital, he could feel his heart beat rapidly increasing as several very painful memories came to him.

Flinging the sheets off, he stood up and decided he was going home damn it!

Of course, it was possible the sedative hadn't really worn off and the buzz he had going was talking but…

He was so going home!

Stumbling around the room, Shuichi reached the door and went instantly on 'spy' mode. Cracking the door open, and with the 'Mission Impossible' theme running through his head, he carefully peeked out and scanned the hallway.

All clear.

Plastering himself up against the wall, Shuichi very quietly slid around the door and began to shimmy down the hallway. At one point he had to mold himself behind a potted plant to avoid a few nurses walking by, but overall, his mission so far was a complete success.

Beaming from his victory thus far, Shuichi opted for a new approach at escaping: run like hell.

It was sloppier and had a higher rate of being caught; but it was also much, much faster.

Flying down the hallway at top speed, his flimsy hospital gown flapping around him, Shuichi grinned as the elevator came into view.

_Almost there!_

Suddenly, he found himself air borne - flying backwards after a sharp tug against his gown before being plunged into darkness.

Blinking, he realized he was in what seemed to be a closet.

And there was…someone…else…in here too…

"AHHH-"

A hand clamped over his mouth and a cold voice leaned into his ear to whisper.

"Shh…"

Relaxing at the familiar tone, and feeling slightly naughty do to his recent activities; Shuichi took the opportunity to lick Yuki's hand. He heard an intake of breath as the hand pulled back and grinned before wrapping his arms around the blond's neck.

A bit hard to do in the dark, but he managed.

"Hey, Yuki. Don't you want to play?" he purred out. "Two closets in two days…"

The playful tone of his voice appeared to be too much for the novelist as a pair of lips crashed down onto his own. Shuichi moaned into the kiss, feeling the effects of his lover's closeness instantly shooting to his groin. In his sedative-cloudy mind Shuichi didn't seem to register that his boyfriend had apparently dropped a few inches in height, nor that the man playing tonsil hockey with him smelled like mangos instead of vanilla.

Not that Tatsuha was complaining of course.

He'd been with Mika when she'd called Eiri and had, of course, tagged along to check on his brother. Seeing the blond standing outside had led him to the conclusion that it was Shuichi in the hospital and not his brother after all. So, naturally, he'd decided to pay the Ryuichi-look-a-like a visit. Seeing him running down the hallway had only given him the idea to pull the pink-haired singer into the closet for a good scare.

But now…

Hell, who'd want to scare someone that was so good at sucking on your tongue?

His Ryuichi obsessed mind began to cloud over, leaving him to forget in the dark closet that it was, in fact, Shuichi's hospital gown and not Ryuichi's that he was reaching under.

And Shuichi. Well all he wanted was for his lover to screw his brains out.

Right now.

Grabbing 'Yuki's' hand, the singer drew three fingers into his mouth and began to suck on them furiously as he drew down and began unbuttoning 'Yuki's' pants. Reaching a hand inside, he heard the 'blond' gasp as he began to stroke away.

Tatsuha ran a hand under the singer's gown, playing and pinching every inch of skin he could find, heat rising at every moan and groan that issued forth from around the lips holding his fingers. Pulling at his own pants with his free hand, Tatsuha let the jeans fall to the floor as he shoved the singer into the wall and began to grind against him.

Shuichi pulled the wet fingers from his mouth, moaning as their erections collided against one another. A few moments of grinding and they were both panting with want. Unable to stand it any more, the pink-haired man drew his 'lover's' head down and began suckling on the 'blond's' ear before whispering huskily.

"Need you. Now."

Unable to resist the sexy voice of the man he now saw as Ryuichi, Tatsuha quickly reached his moistened fingers behind and slowly slide one finger into 'Ryuichi's' opening. The singer groaned as the digit worked its way inside, unconsciously bucking against it as he fought for control of his body. Several minutes and fingers later, both men were ready to explode.

The faintest hint of light played off a small bottle sitting on a nearby shelf and, curious, Tatsuha reached out and grabbed the little tube.

"Look what I found..." he said, voice hoarse with desire as he waved the little bottle close enough for the singer to see it.

Shuichi smiled and grabbed the bottle of lube from his 'lover', squirting a generous amount onto his hand before tossing it aside and firmly grabbing the 'blond's' member. Tatsuha moaned in approval as the singer began to coat him, the skilled fingers tracing over every inch of his exposed manhood.

Before they suddenly stopped.

It took a few seconds for reality to come back and when it did, it was not happy.

"Something…wrong?" he breathed out, not really sure how to handle the situation now that he remembered exactly who he was in the closet with now.

A forceful tug had him biting back a moan.

Shuichi's brow knotted in frustration and concern as he once again tried to move his hand. Another breathy moan issued forth from the man before him, and this time it actually reached the singer's brain that the pitch was way off for Yuki. Come to think of it, a lot of things were off about the 'Yuki' standing before him.

And only one person could possibly have fooled him.

"Tatsuha?"

Caught, the monk could only blush (as if Shuichi could see it).

"Um…April Fool's?"

It took a few seconds for the Yuki-imposter to convince Shuichi that being caught inside the closet right now would be EXTREMELY difficult to explain. Once the singer had calmed down, Tatsuha only then realized he was still being 'held'.

"Uh, Shuichi? Could you, I don't know, let me go now?"

And once again, Shuichi tried.

And once again, it wasn't happening.

"Ah. Funny thing. I think my hand's…stuck."

"What?" Tatsuha felt panic starting to set in. "What do you have a cramp or something?"

"No, you moron! I think my hand's stuck to your…uh…"

Shuichi's blush almost literally lit up the dark closet. Bending down and fumbling around for a few minutes (hard to do when certain parts of your anatomy are being held), Tatsuha finally found the small bottle Shuichi had previously discarded.

Holding it up to the slight crack of light coming through the closet, the teen's face paled as he managed to read the printed words across the surface.

'Industrial Strength Super Glue.'

'Guaranteed to Never Wear Off.'


	12. The END of Tuesday

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 12: The END of Tuesday_

Seeing the wide-eyed expression the monk in front of him was wearing, Shuichi grabbed the bottle from his hands and placed the tube in the slit of light coming from the door.

Words could not describe his horror.

"Tatsuha, you retard!"

But then again…

**Meanwhile…**

Turning around, Yuki narrowed his eyes and listened. He could have sworn he heard something just then. Shrugging his shoulders when no further sounds came, the novelist hurried on towards his lover's room. Opening the door, Yuki was surprised (and disturbed) to find the bed empty.

"Dear God, what have they done to him now? A lobotomy?"

The blond cocked his head, pressing a finger to his mouth in contemplation.

That actually might not be such a bad idea…

Shaking the thought away, Yuki sighed and left the room to search for the missing idiot.

**Meanwhile…**

"Did you hear that?"

Mika paused and listened. "Hear what?"

"Must have been nothing."

"Where's Tatsuha?" Mika asked after a few moments.

Glancing around, and seeing no sign of the teen, Tohma sighed. "I don't know. He was right behind us."

"Great. There's no telling what that little idiot's up to now."

Tohma smiled and shook his head. "He can't be up to much. Ryuichi's in Kyoto doing an autograph signing."

"How very ironic." Mika grinned. "Maybe he went back to the car."

They continued on in silence until a certain train of thought came to a crashing conclusion in the keyboardist's mind.

"He wouldn't…"

Mika stopped with her husband and stared at him for a minute. When he didn't elaborate she crossed her arms in frustration.

"Who wouldn't what?"

Tohma blinked and turned to his wife with a bemused expression.

"If Tatsuha's not with us, perhaps he went inside to visit Mr. Shindou."

Mika shook her head. "He didn't know Shuichi was here any more than we did."

"Hmm." Tohma smiled. "But until we saw Eiri leaning up against the building, Tatsuha was right behind us."

The brunette woman frowned, her eyebrows coming together as the wheels slowly began to turn.

Shuichi. Alone. Tatsuha. Ryuichi. Shuichi. Alone.

"Oh no."

**Meanwhile…**

"This is the best idea you could think up?"

"Hey, at least I thought of something instead of trying to just rip it off!"

"I should rip it off! You don't deserve any thing less for taking advantage of me when I'm in the hospital!"

"I said I was sorry alright? You just…Ryuichi…and…"

"Oh shut up, Tatsuha."

Shuichi sighed and tried to keep his pace even with his lover's idiot brother. After several minutes of fighting, which only ended up in several missing pubic hairs, tears, and a lot of cussing, the two had tried to think of a way to get Shuichi's hand free. The first order of business was, obviously, the need to be able to move without drawing a lot of attention to themselves. Tatsuha had come up with the only idea that seemed like it could actually work: cut a slit down the side of the hospital gown and use Tatsuha's overly large shirt to cover the bulge.

Tatsuha had added his coat over Shuichi's shoulders, using the sleeve between them to hide the singer's arm. The only good part of this in Shuichi's mind was at least his butt wasn't exposed anymore.

He just looked like he'd lost an arm.

The press would eat this up if they could only see.

Moving down the corridor slowly, the two darted their eyes back and forth, knowing it would only be a matter of time before someone came looking for the missing J-pop singer.

And after Shuichi's last visit to the hospital, the entire staff was on pins and needles to not screw up again.

Turning a corner, Tatsuha's eyes grew huge and he suddenly jerked back pulling a surprised Shuichi with him.

"What the-"

"Shhhhh!"

The pink-haired singer grew quiet, too paranoid about having Yuki find them to ask questions at this point. He watched as the teen slowly peeked around the corner before he whipped his head around looking frightfully pale.

"What?" Shuichi whispered.

Tatsuha held in a groan. "Tohma and Mika." He whispered back.

Shuichi nearly fainted. "They're here too?"

"Be quiet! They'll hear you damn it!" The monk scanned the hallway, becoming increasingly more paranoid as the familiar echo of Mika's high heels became louder and louder.

"Come on!" he whispered fiercely, yanking the pink-haired man across the hall and into the first door that opened.

The two stayed quiet, pressing their ears up against the door as they listened for any sign that they had been caught.

"What is it?"

"I thought I heard something."

"I don't see anyone, Mika."

"Knowing Tatsuha, that doesn't mean anything."

"They weren't in Mr. Shindou's room, so I can only imagine where either one of them could have gone to."

"He probably lured Shuichi into a broom closet or something."

Shuichi glared at the monk, giving him a 'have you done this before' look.

"At any rate, we best find them before something happens. Mr. Shindou hasn't been having the best of luck lately."

_No shit Sherlock._

Shuichi sighed and covered his face with his free hand. He simply could not believe how things were progressing at this point. And Tatsuha…well, he just wanted to pay the retarded monk back for this latest little gem. Putting his hand down, Shuichi looked around the room they had ducked into.

Medical supplies…hmm…

Seeing the odd collection of bandages, ointments, and instruments strewn about the room, Shuichi wondered why the door hadn't been locked up. Not that he really cared at the moment. The second his eyes rested upon one particular item, a feral grin spread across his normally innocent face.

"Are they gone yet?" he whispered.

Leaning back from the door, Tatsuha nodded. "Thank Buddha yes."

"Good. I have an idea."

The monk raised an eyebrow, but followed as Shuichi walked over to a glass cabinet and opened the door. Tatsuha looked around the room and noted all the supplies, wondering if there was perhaps something in here that could help them out of their situation.

"Now Tatsuha." Shuichi began, standing up straight and keeping his hand behind his back. "I'm going to get us out of this. It might hurt a bit, but trust me when I say the whole of Japan will thank me in the end."

"What?"

A rather maniacal looked crossed over the singer's face and he lifted his hand up high, revealing the massive butcher's knife it clutched. Beyond scared, Tatsuha did the first thing instinct told him to do.

Run like hell.

Shuichi dropped the knife and grabbed the table the second Tatsuha turned. The monk didn't even realize this as he scrambled for safety from what he believed to be a very insane J-pop singer.

The resulting scream as Shuichi's hand was ripped free sent several patients into cardiac arrest, shattered the cabinet door's glass panels, and directed half the hospital to their location.

Shuichi smiled and checked his gown as Tatsuha curled into the fetal position on the floor just as the room's door opened to reveal Mika and Tohma. A few seconds later and Yuki joined the two along with about half the hospital's staff, all staring at the sobbing, crotch-holding monk rolling on the floor in pain.

_Sometimes, life is good._


	13. Wednesday Part I

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 13: Wednesday_

Another beautiful day began, the sun slowly rising over the tree line and illuminating the joyful songbirds that dwelled within the leaf-filled branches and…

Actually they were more like laughing birds, given the sight they could see from their perches.

Straight across from where a rather unusually large flock of birds were sitting was a hospital window. And inside that window could be seen the utterly depressed and thoroughly embarrassed figure of one crotch-wrapped teenage monk. Three figures stood around him, each agitated and yet unable to conceal their growing amusement at watching the boy wiggle around on the bed in an effort to find a halfway comfortable position.

Tohma, Mika, and Yuki had never in their lives come across a spectacle quite like they did when they opened that storage room door. And after hearing the story from Shuichi's lips –as reluctant as the singer was to reveal his own stupidity- none of the three could remember ever laughing so hard in all their lives. So even though Tatsuha was now wearing the bandage equivalent of a diaper and was more mortified in one moment than most people are in their entire lives, he was still being punished.

Apparently when he asked Mika if she was going to tell their father what had happened, her reply of 'sleeping on it' had simply meant 'coming up with what to do to you since humiliation and pain just wasn't enough'. In order to keep his new little secret under wraps (literally), Tatsuha would have to remain in Kyoto –after he'd healed- for three straight months.

No visiting.

No calling.

NO Ryuichi.

Mika had come up with a lot worse punishments herself, but Yuki and Tohma had a better understanding of just how incredibly painful the incident must have been for the teen. This was considered lenient. To Tatsuha, they might as well have strung him up naked in the town square.

It was a little melodramatic perhaps, but no Ryuichi? Damn!

So after the trio left, having given their sentence, the monk could only sit back and wait for the doctor to release him to Tohma and Mika's care. He shuddered at the thought. No doubt he'd be pulling housework duty until he healed enough to return to the temple. Staring down at the bulge in his hospital gown that was his new crotch wrap, Tatsuha could only think of one thing: revenge.

Sure, the entire thing had been his fault to begin with, but no Ryuichi? DAMN!

Placing his hands behind his head, Tatsuha wracked his brain, searching for the perfect way to make Shuichi pay.

Down the hall, Yuki bid Tohma and Mika a curt goodbye as he entered the room designated for his idiot lover. He could barely believe the shit the teen had managed to get himself into in the last week, but yesterday had almost been too much to take. Finding out that Shuichi had nearly ripped his younger brother's 'manhood' off had him laughing so hard he'd cried. Thankfully anyone who heard the story had done the same thing, so no one had really noticed the usually stoic author in his moment of out of characterness.

Shuichi slowly opened his eyes as the door shut and groaned just seeing the bland white hospital ceiling. Sure, he knew he'd be waking up here again; but the color white was starting to dredge up some really bad memories. He wondered if Yuki would mind re-painting the ceilings at home.

"How's your hand?"

Sitting up slightly, Shuichi gave his smirking lover a long, hard glare. The doctors had to use several different chemicals to get the glue and bits of skin off his hand - a process that left the poor thing raw, red, and now bandaged. He was thankful for the hospital gown; trying to undo pants to go to the bathroom with one hand would be a bitch. Shuichi was also thankful that he could go home today. The doctor had explained that Shuichi was simply suffering the residual effects of breathing in too many chemicals. Though the doctors never did figure out why it took so long for the effects to show or why Yuki didn't seem to be affected in the least little bit.

Shuichi knew. Oh yes, did he ever know. The bad luck was practically a tangible thing to him now, like a little purple monkey sitting on his shoulder just waiting for the opportunity to fuck something up.

In one little warped area of his mind, the monkey was now named 'Bob'.

But no one really needed to know that.

Yuki sat down in a visitor's chair by the bed and regarded the pink-haired singer before him. The toil of the past week was starting to show on his little lover and Yuki wondered how much more the boy would be able to take. Honestly, he was starting to get worried. It seemed every time he turned around something else was happening to Shuichi, a fact that was slowly driving him insane. From the dark circles under his eyes and the thinning frame of the J-pop singer, Yuki had no doubt Shuichi was feeling the same way right about now.

"Yuki?"

"Hm?"

"When can we go home?"

The tiny, pathetic voice nearly broke Yuki's heart.

"Soon, Shuichi. Soon."

The vocalist sighed and lay back down in the hospital bed. A few moments later Yuki stood up and walked to the bed. Bending over he gently brushed his lips against the teens, smirking at the way Shuichi's body shuddered with the soft touch. Feeling adventurous, Yuki let one hand slide beneath the sheets, grazing against the singer's thigh in a feather-soft touch. Shuichi gasped at the contact, his open mouth an invite Yuki didn't refuse; sliding his tongue inside Yuki grinned inwardly as Shuichi's hands wrapped around his neck and pulled him closer to deepen the kiss. His hand continued to roam beneath the sheets; drawing a soft groan of approval he readily swallowed. Yuki's fingers played against the singer's thigh like a keyboard, softly tapping at the skin and inching slowly upwards until-

"ARRGGHHH! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?"

Yuki whipped back and turned, startled by the loud voice. He rolled his eyes, however, at seeing who the intruder was.

Ryuichi stood, one hand covering his eyes, the other covering that of the fluffy pink bunny known as Kumagorou that he held in one arm. A deep blush covered his face and behind him Yuki could see several nurses with upraised eyebrows trying to look into the room.

"Mr. Sakuma?"

"Shuichi! I heard what happened and Kumagorou and I came to visit!" the man said, still covering his and the bunny's eyes.

"You can put your hands down, moron." Yuki huffed, plopping with a frustrated moan back into the chair.

Lowering his hands, Ryuichi grinned and bounced forward. Reaching into his pocket, he whipped out a giant box and set it in front of Shuichi.

"We picked you up a treat, too!" he said, placing Kumagorou on his head.

Seeing the vocalist pale slightly, Yuki craned his neck and looked at the front of the box the teen now held.

'Strawberry Pocky'

A few seconds later, when the smoke cleared, Yuki was not at all surprised to find the hospital bed occupied by a gown and the untouched box. Noting that Shuichi's change of clothes was also gone; he stood up and left to demand the release papers.

No doubt Shuichi was already sitting in the car waiting.

As the door shut, Ryuichi blinked.

"I guess Shuichi doesn't like strawberry anymore Kumagorou."


	14. Wednesday Part II

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 14: Wednesday Part II_

"**What?"**

Startled awake by his lover's irate yell, Shuichi opened his eyes and groaned. The very second they'd arrived home Yuki had dragged him to the bedroom. He then spent the next several hours 'reclaiming' Shuichi in order to get the 'taint' of what had happened off the singer.

Lord his ass hurt.

Rolling off the bed, Shuichi hobbled to the bathroom. When he exited a few minutes later, he found a very pissed off Yuki smoking a cigarette and staring at his cell phone.

"What's the matter?" Shuichi asked, stepping around and lightly sitting on the couch.

"The phone company just called. They wanted to know why I suddenly used all my minutes and about a thousand more on international calls when I've never done it before." Yuki huffed. "I've had my damn cell phone with me all the time! I don't understand what they're talking about!"

Shuichi stared at the little phone for a few minutes before realization hit.

"Yuki? That's your spare phone."

"What?"

Shuichi took the cell phone from his lover's hand and opened it, revealing a small sticker on the inside face.

"Don't you remember? You bought a spare phone and set it up on your plan because you kept thinking I was going to lose or break yours. I put our club sticker from the amusement park on it. You don't have a sticker on your original phone, so this is your spare one."

Yuki blinked. It'd been so long since he'd done it, he had indeed forgotten. "So then, where's my other phone?" he mused out loud.

"You had it at the mall, didn't you?"

Yuki groaned. No doubt he must have dropped it while being chased by all those fan girls. Most likely one of them had picked it up. Cursing, he took the phone back from Shuichi and called the company to explain what he believed had happened. He was not about to pay the several thousand-dollars in charges some idiot girl was racking up on his behalf.

Shuichi smiled and stood up. Heading towards the kitchen, he stopped when the doorbell rang. Changing direction, he opened the door, fully expecting Tohma or Mika to be on the other side to 'check up' on him (or rather, on Yuki).

If only he could be so lucky. (For a change)

**Earlier…**

Setting the phone down, Tatsuha allowed himself a victorious smile. That would show Shuichi and no one would have to know he did it. Grinning even more, he threw the old newspaper that had inspired his phone call onto the hospital table. Sure, no doubt Shuichi was innocent, but the police didn't know that. Yet. Chuckling at the thought of the little pink-haired singer trying to explain his innocence in the matter, Tatsuha laid back and slowly drifted to sleep.

On the table, the headline _'Clothing Store Destroyed by Bazooka' _screamed out in large, bold print.

**And then…**

Yuki sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he was finally allowed out of the interrogation room. For several hours now the author had been forced to recount the story of the past week and his lover's idiotic troubles. All because of that damn bazooka and that equally stupid clothing store guard. The blond cursed whoever had 'tipped' the police to Shuichi's involvement in the matter. Fortunately, although Shuichi had paled considerably when he'd opened the front door to find the police standing there, he hadn't fainted like Yuki thought he was going to. Unfortunately, the police didn't seem to have any sympathy to his lover's plight. Hell, if he hadn't been such an asshole he would never have gotten so much as a drink of water out of the hard-ass detective questioning him. He had no doubt Shuichi was probably thirsty, hungry, tired, pained and not saying a word about it.

Yuki narrowed his eyes as a group of detective walked past him.

_If he has to go back to the hospital because of these ignorant fuck-wits I'm suing these assholes for all they're worth._

An interesting thought really. At least then he'd have more than enough money to pay the cell phone bill from hell if the company didn't wave the charges.

A cool breeze shifted past and Yuki looked up, only to groan at seeing Tohma stride in. The blond was wearing a mixed look of amusement and annoyance. Yuki couldn't really blame him considering this was the keyboardist's second trip to the police station this week.

"What happened this time, Eiri? Did you even make it home?"

Yuki growled slightly at the comment, but reluctantly relayed the events that led them to the police station. When he was done, any annoyance that had been on Tohma's face was gone, replaced by nothing but sheer amusement.

"My. Mr. Shindou is having a horrible week."

"No shit." The novelist replied. He was dying for a cigarette right now.

Tohma sighed. "Let me see what I can do."

Yuki groaned again but nodded as the blond man rose to go talk to someone. He knew Tohma carried a lot of clout around the city and with any luck they'd be out of here in no time.

It was nearly half an hour later when Tohma returned, looking slightly less than happy.

"What?" Yuki asked. God he needed a cigarette now.

"They've agreed to drop the charges against Mr. Shindou. Provided that he pays for the damages caused."

Yuki sighed in relief. Shuichi made more than enough money to cover that and Tohma would have no problem covering the whole thing up. Bad press may sell, but something like this would only hurt Bad Luck and NG. Looking up, he saw the frown was still present.

"I sense a 'but' coming along." He said.

Tohma nodded. "They'll do this, but only if he spends the night in jail tonight."

"What?" Yuki stood up. "Why in the hell do they want that?"

The keyboardist shook his head. "Something about rules and regulations. They wouldn't be very specific no matter what I…said. This is the best way around this, Eiri, I suggest you take it."

The novelist sighed. "Can I see him at least? Someone other than these twits should explain this to him."

Tohma nodded. "Of course."

Yuki held onto the pink singer, waiting patiently for the sobs racking the teen's body to be done. He'd spent the last hour trying to explain things to Shuichi, only to the have the pink-haired singer all but fall apart on him. For the last ten minutes he'd done nothing but hold his lover and wait until he'd cried himself out.

Finally the little body stopped shaking and a sniffling Shuichi lifted his head to look up at the novelist holding him.

"Do I (hic) have to?"

"It's pay for the damages and spend one night in jail or be charged with God only knows what and spend a whole lot of nights in jail." Yuki huffed. His arms were aching and he really needed a cigarette.

"But I'll be by myself! All night!" he cried.

"It's only one night idiot. You'll survive and you'll come home tomorrow."

"But-"

"Look. This whole mess won't be on your record and none of us will have to deal with hundreds of reporters camped out trying to get the inside scoop on it. It'll be a lot less stressful all the way around if you'll just do this."

Shuichi frowned and buried his head in Yuki's chest. Sure, spending the night in jail wouldn't be that bad. Just lonely and cold and dark and creepy and…

But then again, it would be a lot less stress to throw on his already stressed out lover. Not to mention that it was his fault the store was destroyed in the first place; even if that idiot security guard was gender blind. Sighing in resignation, Shuichi mumbled his okay into the author's shirt. He could feel Yuki sag in relief and almost smiled. Being in jail would suck, but if it would take some pressure off Yuki he could handle it.

Several minutes (and hugs and kisses later) Shuichi was hauled off to the small row of jails beneath the police station. Given that it was already late afternoon, the singer was informed that dinner would be brought at six and lights out was nine. The officer led him down the row of cells and finally stopped in front of one. Opening the door, he motioned for the singer to go inside before slamming it shut and locking it behind him.

Sighing, Shuichi turned around to see where he'd be spending the night.

His eyes met with a rather unpleasant sight.

Sharing his jail cell was not one, not two, but four leather-bound, tattoo covered men. None of who looked too friendly. As a matter of fact, all four men were giving him a very hungry kind of look. Shuichi backed up against the bars as far as he could go when one of the men stood up and walked his direction.

The man was as tall as Yuki, had long dark red hair pulled back into a ponytail, and had way more than one piercing decorating his body. He stopped right in front of the terrified singer, placing one hand up on the bars as he leaned forward to stare right at the singer's face.

"Well, well. Look what we have here boys."

Shuichi shuddered at the predatory look the man gave him.

"Fresh meat."


	15. Wednesday Part III

A/N: Don't be confused by the beginning of this chapter. Just keep reading. Heh heh.

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 15: Wednesday Part III_

"What?"

Startled awake by his lover's irate yell, Shuichi opened his eyes and groaned. The very second they'd arrived home Yuki had dragged him to the bedroom. He then spent the next several hours 'reclaiming' Shuichi in order to get the 'taint' of what had happened off the singer.

Lord his ass hurt.

Rolling off the bed, Shuichi hobbled to the bathroom. When he exited a few minutes later, he found a very pissed off Yuki smoking a cigarette and staring at his cell phone.

"What's the matter?" Shuichi asked, stepping around and lightly sitting on the couch.

"The phone company just called. They wanted to know why I suddenly used all my minutes and about a thousand more on international calls when I've never done it before." Yuki huffed. "I've had my damn cell phone with me all the time! I don't understand what they're talking about!"

Shuichi stared at the little phone for a few minutes before realization hit.

"Yuki? That's your spare phone."

"What?"

Shuichi took the cell phone from his lover's hand and opened it, revealing a small sticker on the inside face.

"Don't you remember? You bought a spare phone and set it up on your plan because you kept thinking I was going to lose or break yours. I put our club sticker from the amusement park on it. You don't have a sticker on your original phone, so this is your spare one."

What's going on? It's like déjà vu or something…

Shuichi scrunched his nose up and started to think, absently replying to Yuki as he did so. Slowly but surely the memory started to come back to him, until he recalled everything that had happened. Going to the police station, sobbing over Yuki, being taken down to jail, that weird redheaded guy leaning over him…

Shuichi started to get excited. Maybe it had all been a dream! Yes!

Shuichi smiled and stood up. Heading towards the kitchen, he stopped when the doorbell rang. Changing direction, he started to open the door, fully expecting Tohma or Mika to be on the other side to 'check up' on him (or rather, on Yuki).

But then he started to sweat as he remembered just who had been on the other side of the door in his dream. Had he predicted the future somehow? Shaking slightly, the singer slowly opened the door.

And was immediately tackled to the floor by a very happy and hyper Tatsuha.

"What the hell?"

"Shuichi! Aren't you happy to see me? I'm spending the next two weeks in Tokyo! Want to go do something fun with Ryuichi and me? We're going to the amusement park!"

The pink-haired singer blinked once and then blinked again. Wasn't Tatsuha in the hospital? What the hell?

"Or then again, my sexy friend" the monk said, sliding a hand up the older boy's shirt. "We could find a closet and have a little…fun together."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

Sitting up with a start, Shuichi grabbed his chest with one hand, desperately trying to stop his heart from exploding right then and there. It took a few minutes before the room came into focus and he realized he wasn't in his cell anymore. But then again, he wasn't at Yuki's apartment either. Looking around, Shuichi realized he didn't know where in the hell he was at anymore. Judging by the medical equipment and the crisp white bed he was lying on, it didn't take much to figure out he was in some kind of first aid office, probably at the prison.

A few minutes later and the door opened, a kind looking older man walking in followed by a rather upset looking Eiri Yuki. It took everything in him (plus the room spinning) for Shuichi to not jump off the bed and tackle the author immediately.

"Ah. Good to see you up Mr. Shindou. I was beginning to worry about you." The man said.

Seeing the teen up, Yuki crossed the room swiftly and took his lover's head in both hands, his golden eyes racking over Shuichi body before returning to his face.

"They didn't do anything to you, did they?" he asked, voice cold and laced with anger.

The memory finally returned fully and Shuichi started to shake, his eyes clouding with tears.

"I…I don't think…I don't…know...I…What happened?"

The older man sighed and picked up a small chart lying across the end of the bed.

"I am Dr. Misomu, the prison's attending physician. From what the guards told me, they came to your cell when they heard you scream and found you unconscious on the floor with prisoner number 748393 leering over you. After a complete exam I couldn't find anything physically wrong with you, except for a rather nasty bump on the back of your head. No doubt that was caused when you passed out and hit the floor." Misomu said.

Yuki looked a bit nervous then as he released Shuichi's head and stepped back slightly. Confused, Shuichi gave his lover a look that said as much before turning back to the doctor.

"Normally in these cases, you would have been treated and then sent back to your cell afterwards. Procedure dictated we inform Mr. Uesugi here who came down immediately. After nearly an hour of his trying to explain why sending you back would not be a good idea, I finally drug the truth from him."

Shuichi confusion didn't lift one bit at this. "The truth? About what?"

"Aizawa." Yuki said quietly, biting his lip when Shuichi flinched at the name.

Misomu's face softened. "Your secret is safe with me Mr. Shindou. But due to this new development, I have put in my two cents on the matter with the police chief. Without disclosing any personal information, of course."

Shuichi only nodded. He didn't really mind that Yuki had told the doctor about Aizawa. He knew the man couldn't say anything to anyone without breaking doctor-patient confidentiality. But still, just thinking about it…

"And because of this, you shall be released. Your sentence has been altered slightly so that instead of jail time, you shall only be required to complete one hundred hours of community service instead. I've had it arranged so that you may spend your time helping me when I make my rounds at the local children's hospital. It will be private and should the media catch wind of it, I will be there to help downplay it as merely voluntary instead of forced."

Yuki couldn't help but grin inwardly when Shuichi's face positively lit up at this new information.

"So I can go home now?"

Misomu grinned. "Yes Mr. Shindou. Due to your injuries, I have arranged that your time shall begin next week. Try to rest up and keep yourself out of trouble until then."

"I will! I will! Thank you!" the singer exclaimed, nearly crying in relief at not having to return to that god-awful jail cell again.

His victory was short lived, however, upon standing (or trying to) up from the bed. A wave of dizziness immediately descended upon him and only Yuki's quick reflexes kept the singer from hitting the floor.

Misomu tried not to roll his eyes. "As I said Mr. Shindou, try to keep yourself out of trouble."

Giving a lopsided grin and a thumb's up, Shuichi carefully stood up and waited until the dizziness had passed. After filling out a few forms, sitting through another physical check-up, and relating all he remembered of what happened before he passed out, Shuichi was allowed to leave in Yuki's care. The ride home was silent for the first few minutes, until Yuki finally broke it.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "For telling him."

Shuichi smiled and shook his head. "It's alright, Yuki. It's not like he's a reporter or anything. Besides, it was the only way you could convince him not have be put back in there with those lunatics."

Yuki sighed in relief. "He really didn't do anything to you?"

"Scared the crap out of me. That's about it."

"I think that was enough." Yuki said.

Shuichi was about to reply, when a very loud gurgling sound echoed through the car. Yuki glanced at him from the corner of his eye, amused at the embarrassed flush creeping up the singer's face.

"Hungry are we?" he asked.

"Well I did miss dinner at the prison."

Yuki smirked. "Somehow I don't see that as a bad thing."

The pink-haired singer laughed. "Probably not. Can we stop somewhere Yuki?

The novelist grunted his affirmation and pulled into the first place he saw. Fast food having never been his cup of tea, Yuki decided to skip having a grease-laden fat burger and eat some of the leftovers in the refrigerator when they got home instead. They barely made it out of the drive thru before Shuichi started ripping the bag open and grabbing at the French fries inside.

"You'd better not get anything on my car, brat."

"Ig font!" the teen said with a grin.

They had just reached a red light when Shuichi stuffed his hand into the bag and froze. Yuki looked over with a confused expression at seeing the odd look on his lover's face.

"What?"

Pulling his hand out of the bag slowly, Shuichi's eyes widen even more at the sight that greeted him.

A very, very large cockroach was clinging to his hand.

Both men stared at the huge bug for a second before it admitted a loud, whining hiss.

A few seconds later Yuki was staring at the passenger's seat were Shuichi had once sat before realizing his idiot boyfriend had jumped out of the car and was now frantically hopping across the street, trying to dislodge the monstrous roach. Horns started to blare as motorists in the opposite lane screeched to a halt, several turning sideways in an effort to avoid the hysterical singer in the street. Cursing loudly, Yuki threw the car into park and jumped out.

_Are we ever going to catch a freaking break here?_


	16. Wednesday Part IV

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 16: Wednesday Part IV_

Tatsuha sighed in relief. The hospital had finally released him and, despite the fact that he was released into Tohma's care, he was more than happy. It was a little late but he wondered if the keyboardist wouldn't mind making a stop by his brother's apartment. He'd love to find out how Shuichi's little 'interrogation' went.

"What's so funny, Tatsuha?"

Snapped from his thoughts, the young monk turned his head to look at Tohma. "Funny?"

"You were snickering." The blond said, glancing over at the teen with an upraised eyebrow.

"Oh." Tatsuha mentally cursed himself. "Nothing rea- Tohma, look out!"

The NG President turned his attention back to the road in time to see a pink-haired figure hop in front of his car. Slamming on the brakes, Tohma turned the wheel sharply and skidded to a stop mere inches from the form. Both men's eyes widened when they realized who the figure was.

"Shindou?"

"Shuichi?"

Placing his car in park, Tohma undid his seatbelt and opened the door. He stepped out of the car and watched, amused and confused, as Shuichi continued to hop around in the street screaming like a banshee. He was just about to go ask the teen what he was doing, and why he was out of jail, when Tohma spotted Yuki jogging towards the boy.

"Eiri!"

The novelist looked up at the familiar voice and suppressed a groan at seeing his brother and brother-in-law.

"What in the hell are you doing here, Seguchi?"

"I could ask you both the same question, Eiri. What in the world are you doing-" Tohma stopped himself and stepped closer, lowering his voice to keep the growing crowd from hearing the conversation. "What are you doing with Shindou out in public? He's suppose to be in jail for the night."

Thoroughly annoyed by his brother-in-law's further prying into their lives, Yuki lit up a cigarette and gave the man a bored look instead of answering.

"Dear God, Eiri. Tell me you didn't break him out of prison. I can help you. If we take him back now-"

"Shuichi was in jail?" Tatsuha interrupted. That didn't sound right. Shuichi was supposed to be interrogated and shaken up, not thrown in jail. "They really thought he did it?"

Yuki narrowed his eyes at his brother. "You say that like you know what's going on." He immediately turned his attention to Tohma. "Why in the hell did you tell this idiot?"

Tohma frowned. "I didn't. And Mika doesn't know. So the only way for Tatsuha to know…"

"…is if you called the 'tip' in." Yuki finished, his voice dropping dangerously low.

Tatsuha gulped. This was so not turning out right. "Um. April Fool's?"

The very unhappy expressions directed his way at this statement only caused Tatsuha's bladder to drop one level closer to emptying itself right then and there.

"I'll deal with you later." Tohma stated before turning back to Yuki. "Now I want to know what's going on. Could you not go one night without getting laid, Eiri? I could have called someone over-"

Tatsuha's eyes widened in disbelief. "You can do that?"

Both men turned to Tatsuha and stared at the teen long and hard.

"Shutting up now." He breathed out quietly.

"First of all, Seguchi, it's none of your damn business in the first place. But if it'll get you off my back I didn't break him out of jail. His sentence was changed and he was released."

"Just like that?" The keyboardist questioned.

"No, not just like that. Something happened." Yuki stated flatly.

"What?"

"Damn it Seguchi, do you want a play by play?"

Tohma smiled. "Why that would be wonderful, Eiri. Please."

Yuki groaned. There was no way in hell he was going to stand here in the middle of the street and give Tohma a first hand account of everything that had happened since the last time he'd seen him.

It was Tatsuha, by chance, that was the first to notice something, or rather someone, was missing.

"Eiri? Tohma?"

"What the hell is it now?" the writer fumed. He was getting more than a little sick of twenty questions from his family.

"Where's Shuichi?"

**A few minutes earlier…**

Shuichi continued to hop across the street, furiously shaking his arm up and down, side to side, and every direction in between in an effort to get rid of the giant roach clinging to his hand. He wasn't even trying to pay attention to where he was going during this process, so when his feet hit the curb and he started to fall backwards, Shuichi let out a yelp of surprise. Hitting the sidewalk hard, the singer watched as the giant bug flew off his arm, hit the wall behind him, and slowly slid down to the ground.

"Yes!" he cried out, jumping to his feet and immediately rubbing his offended hand on his shirt. "That is so gross!"

Looking out across the street, Shuichi could see Yuki, Tohma, and Tatsuha talking. Talking wouldn't be exactly what he'd call it, since Yuki looked like he was about five seconds from strangling them both, witnesses or not. He was just about to head their direction when a sudden hissing noise froze the teen in mid-step. Turning around slowly, Shuichi's eyes went abnormally large as he saw the massive cockroach heading his direction.

"What the hell do you want?"

The roach hissed again and began to advance on the singer.

"Oh, I don't even think so! Take this!" he cried. With one large step forward, Shuichi stomped his foot down right on top of the huge bug. "Ha! Who's your daddy?"

The singer picked his foot up expecting to see a very flat, very dead giant cockroach smeared on the sidewalk. Instead, he got a slightly more pissed off hiss as the roach, appearing to be without a scratch, lunged forward again.

"Argh! Radioactive roach!"

Without even bothering to think, Shuichi took off running.

It might have been helpful if he'd managed to run in the direction of Yuki and the others. But then again, it'd have been helpful if a lot of things hadn't happened the way they did.

Oh well.

The singer, already sore and tired, wasn't able to run very fast. This little fact only aided the roach, which was having absolutely no problem keeping up with the frightened teen. Shuichi tried turning corners, jumping fences, taking short cuts – nothing he did was able to deter the huge creepy crawly chasing after him. He was running out of breath rapidly; much longer and Shuichi knew he'd simply collapse in the street, allowing the murderous cockroach to eat his exhausted corpse. Maybe even invite some friends along for the meal.

That thought, in all its stupidity, was the only thing keeping him going.

A few minutes later and Shuichi was positive he wouldn't be able to go on at all. He was just about to give up and surrender to the superior stamina of the roach behind him, when the singer spotted a large truck that was just pulling away from the curb. Picking up the pace, Shuichi could see the sliding back door of the truck was still open – the perfect way to escape the insane roach!

With one final burst of speed, Shuichi caught up to the back of the truck, grabbed the thick cord dangling from the back, and hauled himself inside. He gave a huge sigh of relief as he landed on his back, safe from the giant cockroach from hell.

And then gave a ear-piercing shriek as the back door, propelled down by Shuichi's tug on the attached cord, crashed down and locked, leaving the exhausted and scared singer in darkness.

He took a few minutes to breath and calm down before realizing he was in a refrigerated truck full of boxes.

_I wonder where this thing is going?_


	17. Wednesday Part V

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 17: Wednesday Part V_

"What do you mean, 'where's Shuichi'?" Yuki asked, exasperated beyond belief. "He's right over…"

The author's voice trailed off as his eyes followed his raised hand, discovering that nothing lay beyond it but the empty street. Looking in all directions, Yuki was hit by emotions ranging from fear and worry to anger and more anger.

Tohma glanced around. "My but that boy does get around."

Turning to glare at his brother-in-law, Yuki snorted (his emotions having landed and stuck on 'anger') before storming off in the direction his little idiot was last seen.

"Eiri!" Tohma called out, "Where are you going?"

The novelist continued his brisk pace, not bothering to stop and answer. "I need a drink."

The blare of a car horn stopped Tohma from saying anything further and he turned to see traffic backing up behind their cars. Reaching into his coat pocket, the blond pulled out a spare set of keys for Yuki's car and then handed his own car keys to Tatsuha. Seeing the teen's eyes grow wide in delight, the keyboardist stopped Tatsuha before he could take off towards his nearly brand new vehicle.

"Just remember whose roof you shall be sleeping under tonight, Tatsuha."

The monk gulped at the blonde's tone of voice. No joyriding? Damn!

**Meanwhile…**

Yuki threw his head back, downing the contents of shot glass in one swift gulp. Placing the glass back down, and signaling to the bartender for another, he tried vainly to pull his thoughts together. Granted, he knew that stalling like this wasn't going to make anything better, but he wanted – no, he needed a few minutes of peace to collect himself or he'd go insane.

"Excuse me, Eiri Yuki?"

Yuki felt his 'angry vein' beginning to pop out.

He didn't bother to answer or acknowledge the person; mostly because she had sat down next to him anyway and was now staring at him expectantly. He waited for a few minutes, hoping the young woman would get the hint, but finally realized that she wasn't going anywhere.

Yuki sighed. "Damn it, what do you want?"

"You have something that belongs to my family." The girl said solemnly. "And I intend to get it back, whether you like it or not."

The author's eyes widened and he turned towards the woman in surprise.

_What the hell?_

Meanwhile, nearly on the other side of town, Shuichi contemplated his situation.

Well, he was pretty sure he was contemplating. At least he knew he was thinking about it, which should count for something. It was kind of amusing to be stuck inside a big refrigerated truck, at first, but now that his teeth were starting their own band, all he wanted was out.

"Stupid killer bug." He spat. "All I wanted was some juicy, greasy fries and that…that thing had to ruin it."

On cue, as all good plot devices are, the singer's stomach growled loudly.

"Aww, man!" Shuichi pouted, looking around the truck to see if there was anything edible. "Ooo, what's this?"

Bending down to look a few boxes, Shuichi was elated – no, pants-wettingly gleeful – to discover that this particular refrigerated truck held ice cream.

Lots and lots of ice cream.

Digging into a box with all the fevered zeal of a dehydrated man at an oasis, Shuichi quickly became oblivious to the world around him.

Except that weird clicking noise; that was really getting annoying. Did that ice cream bar just…move? The singer stopped stuffing his face and stared at the lone ice cream sandwich bar for a few minutes. It didn't seem to be moving. No, wait, it just did. Maybe it was just the vibration from the truck?

Paranoid due to the past week's events, Shuichi quietly stepped back and hauled himself on top of the nearest box. Gathering all his patience, which wasn't much admittedly, he watched the bar like a little pink hawk.

And watched and watched and watched and…

You get the idea.

After several mind-numbing minutes of staring at a bar of ice cream, Shuichi was nearly convinced that he had simply lost his mind. That is, until the bar moved again. And clicked. Then, without warning, the ice cream sandwich hurled itself towards him, smacking him in the face and sending the singer flailing backwards. Screaming didn't seem to be doing anything, but it did make a really neat echo throughout the truck. Visibly shaking, Shuichi silently picked himself up and peered over the edge of one of the boxes to where the sandwich had been. His eyes grew impossibly wide at the sight he was greeted with.

_What the hell?_

**Meanwhile, meanwhile, on the other side of town…**

Tohma sighed as he directed Yuki's car to a spot and finally parked. It had taken forever just to find a space, and it seemed like every time he did someone swooped in a stole it. Add in his worry over Tatsuha driving his own car, and the keyboardist was ready to join Yuki in that drink. Getting out and locking the car up, Tohma glanced around for his own car. Thankfully, Tatsuha had found a space a few cars up and parked.

He had almost made it back to his own car, when a great weight suddenly developed on his back. Had it not been for the little rabbit that smacked him in the head, he would have contributed it to his sudden need for bourbon with a bourbon chaser.

"Hello, Ryuichi." The blond said with a sigh.

Tohma didn't bother to ask how the singer had found him, such questions where usually better left unanswered.

"Tohma!" the singer cried. "Oh, Tohma, it's horrible!"

Alarmed at the tone in his friend's voice, the keyboardist pulled the man off his head and placed him down in front of him.

"Ryuichi? What in the world has happened?"

Whooo. Wrong question.

The crying singer immediately launched into a dialogue full of sniffling, snorting, sobbing and, to Tohma's ears, anything else but actual words. The full weight of the past few days was beginning to drag on him, and Tohma was momentarily at a loss as to what to do. He waited a few minutes, hoping the singing idol would calm down enough to tell him what was going on. Just as Ryuichi became somewhat coherent again, the brunet suddenly turned and ran off, screaming out something incomprehensible and sobbing just as hard as before. Tohma's eyes widened and he immediately followed the hysterical man down the sidewalk.

_What the hell?!_


	18. Thursday Part I

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 18: Thursday Part I_

"Alright," said Tohma "Now explain it again slowly, Ryuichi."

After chasing the pop idol down the sidewalk, in the dark mind you, Tohma had finally managed to catch up to Ryuichi and convince the man to return to Eiri's car with him. After directing Tatsuha to go directly home under threat of painful organ removal, Tohma managed to move Eiri's car and get the singer to start talking. Being that all he could get out of him mentioned hamburgers, the NG president had decided to stop at a local burger place and hope the man calmed down a little.

Sniffing slightly and taking another long drink of his milkshake, the singer hugged his stuffed rabbit to his body and quietly began to talk.

"Kumagoro and I were hungry so we decided to come here to get something to eat." the singer began, gesturing out to indicate the burger joint they were now sitting in. "After all, they have the best kid's meals and always have the neatest toys and Kumagoro thought that we could always use another for that neat little shelf of toys in the living room and..."

"Ryuichi."

The brunet smiled. "Sorry! Anyway, I decided to bring Akira with me, because he likes to get out of the house and.."

"Stop there." Tohma interrupted. "Who or what is Akira?"

"Oh, that's right!" the singer exclaimed, "I didn't get to introduce Tohma to Akira! You'll love him Tohma! He's small and crawls all over the place and makes the funniest hissing noise all the time!"

Tohma stared at the singer for a long moment as he continued to describe what sounded a great deal like...

No. It couldn't be.

Right?

"But when we got halfway home Kumagoro noticed that Akira wasn't with us anymore so we doubled back to look for him and then we ran into you! Tohma? Toooohhhmmaaaa?"

Snapping out of his inner thoughts, the keyboardist stared at Ryuichi for another long moment before he asked, "So, what exactly is Akira, Ryuichi?"

"Akira is my friend!"

"Yes, Ryuichi, that I gathered. I mean, what kind of creature is he?"

The singer regarded the blond in confusion. "The funny noise making kind?"

Tohma sighed. "Okay. You are a human, yes?"

"Yes!"

"And Kumagoro is a bunny, right?"

"Right!"

"So then Akira is...?"

"Oh!" Ryuichi laughed, "Akira is a giant, hissing cockroach!"

Tohma sighed. That's what he was afraid of.

"Ryuichi, I believe I may know what happened to Akira."

**Meanwhile...**

"It's after midnight, woman. If you're going to do anything, I suggest you hurry it up."

"Bossy, bossy. Keep your pants on, rainbow rider."

Yuki growled. This had to be the most annoying person he had ever met in his entire life. And considering who his boyfriend was, that was a feat.

"So," the woman began, her black ponytail smacking Yuki in the face as she turned away from him, "why don't you tell me about your boy toy."

"Listen lady.."

"Kara."

"Whatever." Yuki growled. "If you're some kind of reporter, I'll have you know that my personal life is none of your damn business."

The raven-haired woman sighed in exasperation. "Time is of the essence here, Mr. Yuki. I suggest you offer up some information before your little lover ends up as a 24 hour worm diner."

The author narrowed his eyes dangerously. "If you dare lay a hand on Shuichi..."

"I won't have to lay anything on him, Mr. Yuki. If you'd been more inclined to listen to me instead of acting like a stick broke off in your ass, you would have heard me the first time I explained this."

The blond growled again. "Was that before or after you tasered my ass?"

"Before. While you were drowning yourself stupid in a shot glass." Kara answered with a smirk. "Now if you'll shut that babbling hole in your face for five minutes, I'll explain it again."

Yuki snorted, but remained silent. What the hell could it hurt at this point?

"Last Thursday your boy toy.."

"Shuichi."

Kara sighed. God but this man was trying. "Fine. Shuichi entered my family's store and made a purchase."

"Is that illegal?" the author quipped.

"Only for those who have overly sarcastic boyfriends who won't stop interrupting while their loved ones are in mortal danger."

"Alright, already. Go on. Drama queen."

"Jackass." Kara was almost ready to let the damn author's boyfriend kick the big one. "Anyway, what was sold to him was a very old family antique. Not something that we would ever sell."

Yuki rolled his eyes. "And he managed to buy it how?"

"Intern."

The blond nodded in sympathy.

"This particular item is nothing more than a small ring. But it comes from a long and rich family history. A history that implies that it's, well..."

"It's what?" Yuki asked, a bit more intrigued now.

"Quite frankly, Mr. Yuki, the ring is cursed."

The novelist scoffed. "Cursed? You taser my ass and drag me to the middle of God knows where because you think my boyfriend is carrying around a cursed ring? Don't make me laugh."

Biting his lip to keep from strangling the woman, Yuki decided it was beyond time to leave. He was halfway to the door when the shop keeper's next words stopped him cold.

"Has Shuichi been experiencing a lot of accidents lately, Mr. Yuki? Random, nearly fatal accidents that haven't seemed to stop for, oh say, almost a week now?"

The blond turned slowly to face Kara again. "How did you..."

"It's part of the curse, Mr. Yuki. The victim will suffer for a week at the ring's mercy, set up to endure pain and torture via seemingly random acts."

"The week's almost over. So if we can make it through today, what happens?"

The raven-haired woman hesitated. "There can be only two endings for a wearer of the ring. One, the ring is returned to it's designated box by midnight tonight and the curse is lifted."

Yuki did not like were this was headed. "And two?"

"If Shuichi is still wearing the ring on the end of the seventh day, well..."

"Well what, woman?" Yuki ground out, nearly reaching out to take the woman by the shoulders.

"There will be one more accident." she said quietly. "And it will be fatal."


	19. Thursday Part II

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 19: Thursday Part II_

"Look, I'm sorry." The man said for the thousandth time. "If I had known you were a fan, I wouldn't have tried to flatten you, honest!"

Several obviously drunk people on the sidewalk took a wide berth around the man who was seemingly talking to himself as he walked. No one would think that Shuichi was actually talking to a giant cockroach in his shirt pocket, whom was currently hissing and clicking angrily at the boy.

"Well I'm sorry I ran! Your hissing freaked me out, man!"

The roach seemed to whine and then went quiet. To be honest, Shuichi wasn't sure how they'd ended up 'talking' like this. Something about this particular giant bug seemed familiar to him. That, plus the fact that he'd never seen a roach-sized collar before, had finally got the singer to calm down when the cockroach had made it's appearance in the back of the truck.

Since there was no way out, and it took nearly five hours to finally get out of the truck, Shuichi had decided to try and befriend the giant bug. It was to his delight to discover that 'Akira', as the collar had written across it, was a fan not only of Bad Luck, but of Nittle Grasper as well.

Given everything that had happened recently, Shuichi wasn't about to question something so minor as a sentient roach.

"Anyway," the singer began again, "I really need to figure out where we are, what's going on, and where Yuki is!"

The pink-and-white haired boy stopped to think for a minute. "That truck didn't go far before it stopped, so we can't be out of the city."

Shuichi looked around, trying to see if he recognized any of the local buildings. All that was around of any interest was an ice cream shop, a dry cleaner, and a book store - all closed. Being that it was nearly one o'clock in the morning, Shuichi wasn't really expecting anything to be open.

"Hey, wait a minute. I remember that ice cream parlor. That's where I stopped after I bought..."

Turning around and looking the other direction, Shuichi saw it: the little antique store where he had bought his new toe ring at.

"HA! Akira! I know exactly where we are!"

Quirking an eyebrow as the cockroach seemed to click in disbelief, Shuichi sighed.

"Really! See this antique shop? I bought a toe ring here just last week!" the singer exclaimed, pointing into the store window. "Hey, wait. Is this place open?"

Peering in the window, the pink haired man could make out an older man standing behind the counter. The store wasn't well lit, but it hadn't been the first time he'd come, either. Seeing that the 'Open' sign was indeed still hanging on the door, Shuichi decided he might as well go on in.

A small chime alerted the clerk behind the counter to his arrival, and the old man smiled as Shuichi approached the counter.

"Good evening, young man. Is there something I can help you with?" the shop keeper asked.

"Yeah. Do you have a phone? I need to call a cab."

"Eh? You need to lose some flab?"

Shuichi stared at the old man for a minute. "NO." the singer yelled, "I need to call a cab!"

"You feel the need to blab? well go right ahead, sonny! I love some good gossip!"

_Oh, my god. This guy can't hear anything._

Shuichi sighed. Figures.

"Do you have a phone!?" Shuichi tried again.

"Eh?" the old man asked, his face turning quizzical. "You're a homo? Well, that's alright, son. I wonder about my granddaughter sometimes, so I won't judge you."

Shuichi slapped his palm against his forehead. This was going to take awhile.

**Meanwhile...**

Tatsuha gleefully drove the streets, hoping to find Ryuichi roaming the streets nearby. His inner sensors had gone off mere moments after Tohma had left him, and he had been driving for hours hoping to catch a glimpse of the dreamy wonder.

The car suddenly sputtered, making a very unpleasant sound before slowly beginning to die. Tatsuha had just enough sense to steer the car to the side before the it came to a complete stop.

"What the hell?"

He tried to restart the car several times, with absolutely no luck. It took a few moments before he realized that the gas gauge was now firmly set on 'E'.

"Damn it! Man, Tohma is going to kill me!"

Realizing that there was little more that he could do now that wouldn't result in his complete death, Tatsuha decided that his best course of action was to at least live up his last night on Earth. Stopping a few neon signs nearby, the teen realized he had managed to stop near quite a few bars.

He couldn't help the mischievous grin that danced across his face.

Quite a few bars that were known for not bothering their patrons. Provided they could pay their tab.

The monk dug around in his brother-in-laws glove box until he hit pay dirt: a handful of bills Tohma always stashed for emergencies. Knowing he had nothing left to lose, Tatsuha picked a random bar and strolled in.

**And meanwhile again...**

Shuichi was getting no where fast. Although it was nearly comical how the old man constantly misheard everything he said.

Now it was a game.

"Trick!" The singer shouted.

"Eh? Dick? Uh, no thanks sonny. That was the first and only time I did acid."

"Tubes!"

"Boobs? Well, hell yeah! Why didn't you say so! Eheheheheheheee!" the old man cackled.

Funny as it was, the game was quickly losing it's appeal in light of other things.

"Man, I could really use some food." Shuichi sighed, holding his gurgling stomach.

"You want to buy some lube? Well sure! Why didn't you say so!" the old man crooned with glee. "Don't tell my granddaughter, but I sell quite a few 'products' on the side, if you get my drift. Now. Do you want regular, flavored, or glow-in-the-dark?"

"NO! I want...wait, you have glow-in-the-dark?" Shuichi asked in astonishment.

The old man pulled out a huge box from under the counter, effectively distracting the singer with a variety of very interesting 'products'.

Akira sighed and shook his head. Humans.

Deciding enough was enough, the roach hissed loudly, shaking Shuichi from his 'naughty' thoughts and bringing him back to reality.

Reality being that he had spent the past hour giving an old man dirty thoughts and not accomplishing anything. Like getting home to Yuki.

"Oh, man. I bet Yuki is so pissed right now!" the singer whined.

"Eh? What was that? Hold on, sonny, let me get my hearing aids!" the old man said, heading to the back of the store.

The singer stood for a minute, taking the opportunity to count to ten.

_No no. Must not get violent with the old deaf man. Must. Not. Get. Bazooka._

By the time the old man returned, Shuichi was admiring a display of rings similar to the one he bought last week.

"Like those, do ya boy?" the shop keeper crooned. "Right nice replicas if I do say so myself. 'Course, that damn idiot intern sold the real ring."

"The real ring?" Shuichi asked.

"Oh, yes. The real ring's been in the family for generations. It's cursed, too."

"Cursed? What?"

"I know." the man said. "It's sounds incredible, but it's true! Why, every man who's ever worn that ring has had the worst series of accidents in their lives! Then, after a week - POOF. Worm food."

Shuichi gulped, turning several shades lighter. "W-worm food?"

"Yes sir!" the old man cackled. "Sure hate to be the fool who's been wearing that ring all week. His tickets up at midnight."

The singer nearly fainted. "Dear God, old man! I'M that fool! I bought that ring!"

"What? You're pulling my leg."

Shuichi quickly removed his shoe and sock, showing the shop keeper the ring snugly fitted around his second toe.

"Holy crap on a cracker, boy! You've got to get that ring back in it's box! It's the only way to stop the curse!"

"Where's the box?!"

"My granddaughter took it!"

"Why!?"

"She was looking for the ring!"

"But it's right here!"

"Well she didn't know that!"

"Well call her!"

"I can't!"

"Why not?!"

"She doesn't have a cell phone!"

"ARGH!"

Shuichi dropped to the floor, hanging his head as tears began to fall down his cheeks.

_I'm going to die. Oh my God, I'm going to die! All the things I've never done! The glow-in-the-dark lube I've never used! Oh my God, Yuki!_

"Yuki!" Shuichi jumped to his feet. "I have to find Yuki!"

"A damn snow cone isn't going to help you now, boy! You need to find my granddaughter!"

"Well where the hell is she?!"

"Out looking for the ring!"

"Well it's right here!"

"She doesn't know that!"

"Did she say where she was looking?!"

"Everywhere!"

"When the hell is she coming back here?!"

"Not until she finds the ring!"

"But it's right here!"

"She doesn't know that!"

"Well which way did she go?!"

"Every way! She's looking for the ring!"

"I KNOW that! Where is she looking!?"

"Everywhere!"

"Isn't she ever coming back HERE?"

"Only when she finds the ring!"

"But I have it here!"

"Well, she doesn't know that!"

"ARRRRRGHHH!"


	20. Thursday Part III

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 20: Thursday Part III_

Yuki groaned and sat up. Wiping the sleep from his eyes he surveyed his surroundings. Where ever he was, it was run down and smelled like an old man. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, Yuki glanced at his watch. It was nearly 10 am!

_Shit!_

As Yuki began to sit up, the door opened and Kara walked in, carrying a small tray.

"Ah, you're up. Good."

"Where the hell am I and how in the hell did I get here?"

"Good morning to you, too." she said dryly.

Setting the tray down on the nightstand beside the bed, she gestured towards the author.

"Eat something and I'll explain."

Picking up the steaming bowl, Yuki didn't bother to ask what it was. His stomach was dancing painfully, a reminder that he hadn't had food or his medication since early yesterday afternoon.

"After I finished explaining to you about the ring, you tried to take off like a madman." Kara said, watching the novelist greedily shovel food into his mouth. "You didn't get far, though, before you simply passed out on the sidewalk."

Yuki stopped and frowned. "I just passed out?"

The raven-haired girl nodded. "I imagine you've been doing a lot of running around the past week Mr. Yuki. It was bound to catch up to you at some point."

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Yuki deposited the now empty bowl on the tray.

"I've got to find Shuichi." he stated flatly. "Now."

"About that." Kara began, "It appears he was here just a few hours ago."

"WHAT?!"

"Amusingly enough, he managed to get himself right back to where he bought the ring, here at my family's shop. Unfortunately, I have the box he needs to put the ring into with me. But my grandfather did tell him what was going on." she said. "He left pretty quickly after he found out, trying to find me, apparently."

Yuki sighed. Great. They were all out scouring the city for each other in some kind of twisted version of Duck Hunt.

"Alright." the author finally said. "If we're going to go hunting the city for each other, someone might as well do something smart beforehand."

Digging his now charged cell phone from his pocket, Yuki flipped it open. Seeing nothing more than a few missed calls for Tohma, Yuki dialed Shuichi's cell phone. Getting voice mail, he knew the singer hadn't made it home yet.

"Shuichi, it's Yuki. As soon as you get this message, I want you to _call_ me. No ifs, ands, or buts, got it? And stay at the house for God's sake! Don't go anywhere!"

Hanging up, the blond dialed the house phone and left a similar message on the answering machine.

Yuki was just about to put his cell phone away, when it began to ring. Flipping it open, he scowled at the caller id.

"What do you want, Tohma?"

"Ah, there you are, Eiri! Have you found Shindou yet?"

The author rolled his eyes at his cheery brother-in-law. "No. And I need to. Quickly."

"Oh? Something the matter?" the NG president said with curiosity.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I don't know about that, Eiri." the keyboardist said. "After the last 24 hours, I'd believe just about anything."

Yuki hesitated. The whole thing was a little hard to swallow. Even for him.

Tohma put a reassuring smile in his voice. "Try me."

**Meanwhile…**

Shuichi sighed. He'd been going up and down the streets for hours now, hoping to catch a glimpse of this Kara girl. The old man, perverted and weird as he was, had been kind enough to give him a picture of her to help in his search. But even that hadn't been enough as Shuichi had spent all night and most of the morning, doing nothing but walking the streets. Stopping outside of a line of bars, Shuichi stretched and sighed again. Even Akira had long since passed out in his shirt pocket.

Odd to think that a few hours ago, he'd been running in terror from the giant cockroach.

_Man my feet are killing me._

"I said get out!"

Turning to the sound, Shuichi had just enough time to register in his brain that a large object was being throw his direction. Having no time to move, the thing slammed into him and sent him sprawling half way into the street. Groaning, he managed to roll it off of him and sit up. Rubbing his head, he glared at the man who was now retreating into one of the bars.

"You damn bastard! I outta.."

A loud groan cut him off and Shuichi turned to the thing that had been so carelessly chucked at him in the first place.

"Tatsuha?"

Staring up through blood shot eyes, the teen managed a small smile and wave.

"Hi Shuichi!" he said with a hiccup.

"Holy shit, Tatsuha, are you drunk?" Shuichi asked, his eyes wide. "Oh man, Tohma is going to _kill_ you!"

The teen laughed. "He was going to kill me LONG time before I drink nothing." he slurred out.

The singer rolled his eyes. "Come on. I can't just leave you here."

Pulling his aching body up, Shuichi barely managed to get the monk up and on his feet. Slinging one of Tatsuha's arms around his shoulder, the pink-haired singer stopped to think.

_Now where can I take Tatsuha? Arrgghh! I don't have time for this!_

"Let's go back to your place and play." Tatsuha said with a drunken leer. "My bandages need changing doctor Shuichi."

"Ugh."

Shuichi was ready to simply drop the horny bastard and continue his search when the teen suddenly stood up straight, a strange expression coming over his face.

"Tatsuha?"

The monk turned a brilliant shade of green and turned to look at Shuichi.

"Oh, God." Shuichi said, realization dawning on him. "Tatsuha, aim that way! AIM THAT WAY!"

A second later, a geyser of alcohol and pretzel spewed forth from the teen's mouth, unceremoniously splashing on and then running down Shuichi's shirt.

"ACK!" Shuichi let go of the teen, desperately trying not to go with his gut reaction of wiping his shirt with his hands. He heard a loud hiss as Akira jumped from his shirt, the crash and then the smell having been more than enough to wake the sleeping roach.

"Hey, Akira! What's up my man?" Tatsuha slurred, bending down to greet the bug. "Long time no see, eh?"

Ripping his shirt off and throwing it on the ground, Shuichi stopped and looked at Tatsuha.

"Wait, you know Akira?"

"Well, yeah." the teen said, his mind becoming a little more clear. "I got him for Ryuichi."

The singer sighed. Figures. But it did explain the roach being a fan of Nittle Grasper and Bad Luck. Shuichi made a mental note that when this was all over, he needed to get Akira back to his idol. For now, though, that was going to have to be last on his ever growing to do list.

"Man, Shuichi, you reek."

Glaring angrily at the teen next to him, Shuichi restrained himself from lunging forward and ripping out the monk's vocal chords with his teeth.

"That's it." he said, a dark expression coming over his face. "We are going back to my place. I'm going to take a shower and call Yuki. YOU are going to sleep off the rest of the alcohol and then keep your ass at the house until Tohma picks you up."

"Aw man.."

"Don't even start with me, Tatsuha." Shuichi growled. "I will not hesitate to rip your worthless soul from your body, use it to wipe my ass and then cram it back down your spineless body with a razor-coated plunger!"

Staring at the singer with wide, frightened eyes, Tatsuha shut his mouth and stood waiting for orders. He hoped one of those would be to pee, otherwise he was going to let loose all over himself.

Satisfied that the teen wasn't going to give him anymore grief, Shuichi turned and marched down the street towards home.

**Meanwhile, Meanwhile…**

Tohma hung up the phone and stared out his office window. The tale Yuki had told him was quite unbelievable indeed. Weighed with the things that had happened in the past week, however, it did seem to fit. A loud snore caught his attention and he turned to look at the couch across the room. After spending a few hours with the crying singer searching the city for a missing cockroach, Tohma had been extremely grateful when Ryuichi had passed out. If they hadn't been so close to NG at the time, the keyboardist would have taken him home instead of just to his office.

The ringing of his cell phone cut his thoughts short and Tohma flipped the device open without glancing at the caller id.

"Tohma, where in the hell are you? And where's Tatsuha?"

"Hello Mika." he said, lowering his voice to keep from disturbing the sleeping Ryuichi.

"Answer my question." the brunette fumed on the other end. "And why the hell haven't you called me before now?!"

Sighing to himself, Tohma answered in a steady voice. "I ran into a few problems on the way home. But to answer your questions, I'm at work and I don't know where Tatsuha is. Did he not come home last night?"

"No, he didn't." Mika said, an edge of worry creeping into her voice. "And he won't answer his cell phone, either. I've been trying him for hours now."

Tohma frowned. Truth be told, he'd forgotten all about the teen when he'd ran into Ryuichi. This alone was troubling. He was not a man to forget things. Especially not family members, annoying as they may be.

"I'll get a hold of Eiri and see if perhaps he's at his apartment. I wouldn't worry too much, Mika. There's not a lot of trouble Tatsuha would dare to get into at this point."

The brunette snorted on the other end. "You seem to forget this is _Tatsuha_ we're talking about here."

The keyboardist frowned harder. That much was very, very true.

"I'll be sure to call you the moment I've located him."

Mika huffed on the other end. "I would hope so. And try not to keep me waiting for hours like last time!"

Hanging up the phone, Tohma stood and stretched. He was dog tired from roping in his hyperactive singer for the past few hours, but he wouldn't be able to rest until Tatsuha was found and the mess with Shindou and Eiri was straightened out. It was time to call in some reinforcements.

Picking up his cell phone, Tohma dialed the number and waited. A few rings later, he was greeted with a gruff hello.

"I know you're on vacation, but I have a matter than requires your immediate attention."

"What the hell did Shuichi do now?"

Tohma smiled. "Very observant, Mr. Winchester. Very observant indeed."


	21. Thursday Part IV

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 21: Thursday, Part IV_

Unlocking the front door and bursting into the house, Shuichi hoped against hope that Yuki might somehow be there waiting for him.

"Yuki!" he yelled out. "Yuki?"

Stumbling in behind him, Tatsuha sighed. "No one home but us."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious." Shuichi snorted. "Make yourself useful and go to sleep."

"How is that going to be useful?" the teen asked, dropping heavily onto the couch.

"It'll get you out of my hair." Shuichi muttered, heading to the bedroom to retrieve his phone.

"What?"

"Nothing!" the singer chirped.

Picking up his rejuvenated cell phone, Shuichi flipped it open and saw several missed calls and a new message waiting for him. Grabbing a towel from the closet, he dialed into his voice mail and listened.

"Shuichi, it's Yuki…"

Listening to the message, Shuichi couldn't agree more with his lover and quickly dialed Yuki's number. It rang only once before the blond picked up.

"Shuichi?"

"Oh, Yuki!" the singer felt tears stinging the back of his eyes just hearing his lover's voice.

"Are you okay? Where are you?" Yuki said, worry apparent in his voice.

Shuichi smiled and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I'm okay. I'm at the house with Tatsuha." he replied, a few sniffles sneaking out. "I…I have to tell you something, Yuki. It's going to sound really unbelievable though…"

"I already know about the ring." Yuki said. "As a matter of fact, I have Kara and the ring box here with me."

Relief flooded over the pop star and his knees gave out. Crumbling to the floor, Shuichi couldn't stop a sob from escaping his throat.

"Shu? Are you alright? What happened?"

"N-nothing. Nothing. I'm just. Oh, God, you have no idea how glad I am to hear that." he said, trying not to cry more.

"Stay put." Yuki said. "We're on our way to the house now and this'll all be over with."

Shuichi nodded his head. Remembering that Yuki couldn't see him, he replied, "Okay, Yuki. I love you."

Yuki hesitated for a second, "You too." he finally replied.

Shuichi smiled and closed his eyes. "Hurry." he whispered.

"I will."

Closing the phone, the teen allowed himself a few brief minutes of quiet crying before he finally stood up. Hope flooded into him and Shuichi drank it up like a dying man in the desert. Heading into the shower, he couldn't help but start to hum.

Finally, it was all going to be over with.

**Meanwhile**

"I can't believe we actually caught a lucky break!" Kara exclaimed, trailing behind a near running Yuki.

"Yeah, well, don't jinx it." Yuki huffed. "You said your car should be close by. We can be back at the apartment and get this damn thing over with in the next hour."

Despite his own words about jinxing things, Yuki couldn't help but allow himself a bit of relief. With Shuichi safely back at the apartment, there was little that could possibly happen to stop this disaster now.

"Hey! Yuki!"

Pausing at the familiar voice, the author looked behind him. Seeing a familiar figure running towards them, Yuki slowed down until he caught up.

"Man, funny running into you down here." Hiro said. "Where's Shuichi? I brought him something back and…"

Stopping to actually look at the blond, Hiro whistled. "Man, you look like hell. What happened?"

Finally spotting Kara heading to unlock a nearby car, the author motioned for the guitarist to follow. He had a feeling the red head was going to be needed once they finally got back to Shuichi.

"Get in the car, Hiro." Yuki said as they drew close to his waiting car. "I'll explain on the way."

**Meanwhile…**

"Have you found him yet?"

Looking up from his cell phone, Tohma saw Ryuichi hopping towards his desk. He sighed. He had hoped the singer would stay sleeping for a little bit longer.

"Not yet, Ryuichi." Tohma said, forming a smile. "But I'm afraid I have someone else I need to track down now as well. It seems Tatsuha's gone missing."

"But…but Tatsuha's can take care of himself!" Ryuichi cried. "Akira's so small and people always get the wrong idea about him and try to squash him and…"

"Ryuichi."

The brunet stopped his rambling and glared at the NG president.

"Fine!" he huffed. "I'll go find Akira myself! You look for Tatsuha and when you find him, he can come help me look!"

Tohma sighed. This was exactly what he had been hoping to avoid.

"I'm sure that Akira is perfectly fine where ever he is, Ryuichi. You said he was a smart bug and like I told you earlier, I think he's with Shuichi."

"Then I should be out looking for Shuichi!" the singer exclaimed. "Thanks Tohma! I had almost forgotten about that!"

The blond was about to object when he realized that it may not be a bad idea having another set of eyes trying to hunt down the missing Bad Luck singer. Ryuichi was surprisingly good at finding people and despite his odd personality, the man could handle himself just fine.

"Alright." Tohma said, standing up from his desk. "But I'm coming with you. If we do find Shuichi, I need to call Yuki immediately."

"That's okay, Tohma!" the brunet yelled, running towards the door. "I'll call you when I find Shuichi and then you can call Yuki! Kumagoro and I work faster alone!"

The NG president started around the desk to follow when his cell phone went off. Seeing the caller id, however, he decided to stop.

"Hello?"

**And meanwhile again…**

Stepping out of the shower, Shuichi took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled. It felt so damn good to be at home. Wiping the steam from the mirror, the singer began brushing his teeth as he thought about the past week. Accident after accident after miserable experience.

Well, not all of it was miserable. He'd had fun in the closet at the mall with Yuki, after all. A bright blush worked its way onto his cheeks as he remembered the steamy encounter with his lover. It was definitely a bright spot on this cloudy hell of a week. Once he was done, Shuichi padded to the bedroom and rummaged through the sacks on the floor, amused that he hadn't even had time to put his things away from the mall yet. Fishing out a pair of jeans and a large orange hoodie, the teen dressed quickly. He didn't know why he was putting a hoodie on. It was a little too warm for such things. But it was soft and comforting and that's all he needed right now he realized before heading back to the bathroom.

_Man, I look like hell._

Sighing as he inspected all his wounds, Shuichi pulled some gauze out from the medicine cabinet and began to re-wrap his hand. This caused him to remember Tatsuha and he slipped into the living room to make sure the brunet hadn't taken off. Tohma would kill him if the idiot was roaming around town drunk right now.

"Mm….Ryuichi…"

Hearing the breathy voice made Shuichi roll his eyes and he peeked around the corner to the living room. Tatsuha was deep asleep, one arm and leg dangling off the couch and a bit of drool beginning to creep from his open mouth. Shuichi grinned when he saw Akira flopped out on top of the couch, obviously having fallen back asleep.

Well, at least he wouldn't have to worry about Tatsuha for a little while. The teen seemed to have drank enough beer to take down a small bear. Humming to himself as he entered the kitchen, Shuichi thought about giving Yuki a call to see how far away he was.

Nyah. He sounded pretty worried. Knowing Yuki, he'd be here any minute.

Pouring a glass of water and grabbing a banana, Shuichi allowed himself to be drawn back into the mundane aspects of life for a moment. He needed to check the mail. He needed to put his clothes away. He really needed to buy a box of hair dye…

A loud explosion interrupted any other domestic thoughts Shuichi might have had, starling the singer and causing him to dive behind the counter.

_Oh, God, now what?!_

"Oh, Shuichi!"

Recognizing the voice, the singer stood up and glared at the kitchen door.

He really, really needed to kill K…

Gun shots rang out a minute later and the singer dove to the floor once again. Damn but that man was insane. The kitchen door burst open a moment later, revealing the tall blond, decked out with several guns.

"Alright Shindou, give it up!" K said with an evil laugh. "I have strict orders to take your trouble making ass back to the boss. So we can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."

Glancing over the counter, Shuichi considered his options. He could either give up and go quietly with the gun toting lunatic or make a break for it and hope Yuki arrived before K caught him.

Seeing the particularly evil grin the blond was wearing, Shuichi decided it was probably safer to dive into a tank full of hungry sharks than go with either of his other options.

"Look!" the singer cried, standing up suddenly and pointing behind K. "A huge roll of bubble wrap!"

Confused, K did exactly what Shuichi hoped and turned around. The moment he did, the singer made a break for it, slipping around the larger man and running as fast as he could towards the bedroom. Slamming the door behind him, Shuichi frantically searched the room for an escape.

"Hey!" K shouted, watching the singer fly down the hall. Turning with a grin, he cocked the gun in his hands. "So. Hard way it is."

It was less than two minutes later before K retuned to the living, a screaming tied up singer flung over his shoulder. Really, if Shuichi hadn't wanted to make it a challenge, he should have headed for the door.

Too bad all he could think was how Yuki had told him not to leave the apartment.

"Damn it, K! Put me down! Yuki's suppose to be here any minute with the ring box and I don't have time for this!"

The blond snorted. "It'll be a cold day in hell before that frigid bastard proposes, Shuichi."

Realizing the man had no idea what was going on, Shuichi struggled even harder against the ropes.

"Noooo! You don't understand! He.."

"Quiet!" K yelled. "Do I really need to gag your ass too?"

Shuichi let out a frustrated growl. As they walked past the couch, he couldn't help but be amazed that Tatsuha was still asleep.

"Tatsuha! Wake up! Get up and do something you idiot!"

Walking over to the new hole in the wall, K grabbed the awaiting ladder and grinned.

"Sorry. No one can help you now." he said with a hearty laugh.

"Taaattsssuuuhaaaaaa!"

As K pulled the helicopter out of auto pilot and took off, Tatsuha rolled over in his sleep and sighed happily.

"Ahhhh, the air feels good here Ryuichi…"


	22. Thursday, Part V

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 22: Thursday, Part V_

The second the car came to a stop, Kara threw it into park and Yuki dove out. Not bothering with the elevator, the author raced up the stairs, Hiro and Kara right behind him. By the time they'd reach the correct floor, Yuki and Hiro's lungs were burning. Vowing to never smoke again so long as Shuichi would be alright, Yuki burst through the stairwell door and jogged down the hall. Opening the door, he fully expected to be tackled by his hyperactive lover.

When no such attack happened, he cautiously stepped further inside.

"Shuichi?"

A feeling of dread came over him as the silence spanned on.

"Shuichi?!"

The three split up, checking each room of the apartment. Gathering in the living room, they confirmed that the singer wasn't there.

"Damn it!" Yuki snarled. "I told him to stay put!"

"Ooooooahahahhaaa. That tickles…"

Three pairs of eyes slowly turned towards the couch, their gazes falling on a still sleeping Tatsuha spread out on the couch. Walking over, Yuki grabbed his younger brother and hauled him up.

"TATSUHA!"

The drooling monk continued sleeping, oblivious to the very angry man that was now holding him in the air.

"Damn it, Tatsuha, wake up!"

Getting no response, Yuki drug the teen into the bathroom. A few seconds under the cold spray of the shower later, and a sputtering monk was spewing curses at the blond.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he cried. "I was having the best dream…"

"Shut up about your wet fantasies. Where the hell is Shuichi?" Yuki demanded.

"I don't know." Tatsuha said, shaking his head. "He was here when I fell asleep. That's the last I saw of him."

"Why's there a giant hole in the living room?" Hiro asked from behind.

"There's a what in the what now?"

Dragging the brunet down the hallway, Yuki stopped inside the living room and pointed.

"That." he said through clenched teeth. "You're telling me you slept through something making that in my fucking wall?"

"Uh, yes?"

With a heavy sigh Yuki let go, smirking as the teen dropped painfully to the floor.

"Ow! Damn it, that hurts!" Tatsuha said, rubbing his hind end.

"Tough." the author snarled. "Alright. So Shuichi's gone and my idiot brother is worthless as usual…"

"Hey!"

"So, now what?"

Looking around the room carefully, Hiro spied a quite a few bullet holes towards the kitchen. Walking inside, he found a turned over glass and the remains of a banana. The kitchen door had obviously been kicked in and he could see some large scuff marks on the tile floor. His eyes narrowed as he took in the familiar sight.

"What are you thinking?" Yuki asked, seeing the look on the red head's face.

"K."

Yuki raised an eyebrow. "That crazy gun toting manager of yours? Isn't he on vacation like the rest of you?"

Hiro nodded. "But this is definitely his handy work. Maybe Tohma was trying to help you find Shuichi?"

"Well," Yuki said, pulling out his cell phone. "There's one way to find out."

**Meanwhile…**

"Ah, yes." Tohma quipped with a smile. "It's good to hear from you. Especially so soon."

He listened to the man on the other end as he eyed the door Ryuichi had just raced through.

"Excellent work." the NG president smiled. "No, no. Just meet me on the roof, K. I do appreciate your help."

Pulling the phone from his ear as maniacal laughter crackled over the airwaves, Tohma shook his head. Granted the blond was productive and quick, but he had some doubts about K's sanity sometimes. He had barely closed the phone when it began to ring.

"Hello?"

"Did you send that crazy gun toting bastard out to track down Shuichi?"

"Why hello Eiri, lovely to hear from you." Tohma said with a smile.

"Can it." Yuki said with a snarl. "And answer me."

"Why yes, Eiri, I did send K out to help you find Mr. Shindou. And you'll be happy to know that he's succeeded and is on his way to NG right now."

"Damn it, Tohma!" the author growled out. "Shuichi was at home waiting for us when that lunatic punched a hole in my living room and drug him out!"

The blond frowned. "Oh, dear. I am sorry, Eiri. But at any rate, K is on his way and Shuichi will be more than safe here."

"Just call him and have him turn around!"

"I'm afraid I can't." Tohma said. "Once K's reported in that his mission is complete, he shuts off his cell phone to avoid distractions. I'm afraid there's nothing that I can do."

Yuki sighed. "Fine. We'll be there soon. Just don't let Shuichi go anywhere!"

"You have my word that he'll stay safe, Eiri."

Slamming the phone shut, Yuki turned on his heels and headed for the door.

"NG?" Hiro asked.

Yuki merely nodded. "Grab the dolt, will you?"

Turning around, Hiro grabbed Tatsuha by the front of his shirt and jerked him forward.

"Hey!"

"Just be quiet and maybe Yuki'll forget some of the crap you've done this week." Hiro hissed.

"Wait, how do you know about anything I've done?" the monk questioned.

"It was a long trip over and I like having all the details." the red head said, pushing the teen ahead of him. "Now move it."

"Alright, alright, sheesh."

**Meanwhile…**

Growling behind his gag, Shuichi glared daggers into the back of K's head. He had stopped, however, making much noise, waiting for the blond to get engrossed in flying as he slowly tugged and pulled at the ropes that held him. The only good thing about having a crazy gunman for a manager, was learning how to escape being tied up. K really should be more careful with what he thought the band needed to know if he was going to continue to use these tactics on them.

It took a few minutes to get the bonds loosened up enough, but once he did, Shuichi was able to slip his arms free. After a few more minutes he managed to wiggle himself completely free of the bondages and pulled the gag out of his mouth with a frown.

He was tired.

Very, very tired.

And now, thanks to his idiot manager, he was missing his chance to be done with this hellish week. The more Shuichi thought of the situation, and his missed opportunity, the angrier he became. Standing up, he quickly made his way up front and grabbed K's long hair.

"Ack! Damn it, Shuichi! What the hell are you doing?!"

The singer fumed. "What am _I_ doing, you lunatic?! You just shot a whole in Yuki's apartment and dragged me out like a sack of meat because Tohma commanded you to! And I was this close to being done with this stupid fucking week! This close to not having to cringe every time I step outside the apartment! This close to being able to see Yuki again! ARRRRGGHHH!"

Popping off his straps, K made a grab for the singer, but slid out of his seat instead.

Shuichi jumped back, curling his hand into a fist and ignoring the pain that shot up his wrist because of it.

"Shuichi, you are going back to NG whether you like it or not." the blond spat out.

"Like hell I am!" Shuichi screamed. "If I have to jump out of this damn thing, I am going back home!"

"I'm going to hog tie you like the little snort you are!" K growled.

Shuichi stopped and stared at the blond. "Wait, what?"

Before K could answer, the helicopter shifted suddenly to the right, throwing both men to the floor. Pulling himself up, K looked forward, his mouth dropping open at the sight of the now rapidly approaching ground.

"Shit!" he screamed. "We're dropping fast! Sit down and strap in!"

Jumping back into his seat, K grabbed the controls and attempted to pull them out of the free fall. Realizing what was happening, Shuichi shot back into his seat and grabbed the buckles, trying desperately to buckle in before they crashed. K continued trying to pull them out, trying everything he could think of as the ground continued to draw near. After a few moments he knew there was no chance of pulling completely out of the dive. Shuichi's hands fumbled around the buckles, still unable to get the to ends to click together. Glancing up, he gasped as the ground came into full and perfect view.

"Brace for impact!"


	23. Thursday, Part VI

A/N: Now that the Document Manager is back up, I can finally upload! We're almost at the end of it, just two more chapters to go! Thank you guys for reading over the years and I hope you enjoy the last few chapters! They'll be up soon! :D

**One Bad Week**_  
Chapter 23: Thursday, part VI_

Tohma listened as another sigh drifted through the room. Glancing at his watch for the umpteenth time, he saw it had been nearly an hour since he had last spoke with K. To say he had been shocked when Yuki and the others managed to get here before the blond manager was an understatement. But Tohma had simply figured that K was having a few difficulties keeping the singer in line. Shuichi could be quite a handful and no one doubted that the teen was probably pissed at being drug from the apartment.

Picking up his cell phone, Tohma stepped out of the office and dialed Mika's cell phone. He had nearly forgotten to call her.

"Hello?"

"Hello Mika." Tohma said, letting a smile spread to his face. "You'll be happy to know that Tatsuha is here with me now and safe."

He heard her release a sigh on the other end. "Thank God. The cops didn't drag him in, did they?"

Tohma chuckled. "No, my dear. Eiri did."

"That's just as bad. Actually, that might be worse."

The keyboardist grinned. "You wanted to go to Lockley's for dinner tonight, right?"

"About that." Mika said. "I don't know if you've been watching the news at all, but there was some kind of accident downtown. From the footage they were showing, it looks like Lockley's got hit pretty badly."

"It must have been some accident to take out a building." Tohma replied.

"Yeah. The news reporter was interviewing witnesses who said it was a helicopter. Crazy, right?"

Tohma's eyes grew wide as the implication hit him. There was no way. Oh, God, please say it wasn't…

"Tohma? Tohma are you there? Tohma?"

Hanging up the phone with a deafening click, Tohma shot back into the office and pulled out a television remote. Flipping through the channels, he ignored the looks of everyone as he searched for a news station covering the crash. He finally stopped when he saw a promising lead.

"EMTs and police are still on the scene. One victim, believed to be the pilot of the helicopter has been pulled from the wreckage alive, though his status is unknown at this time."

The footage changed to ambulance crews as they wheeled a man towards a waiting ambulance. Tohma's heart sunk into his stomach as a long, familiar ponytail of blond hair flowed from the top of the gurney.

"Holy shit." Hiro said, standing up and drawing closer to the television. "Is that…"

Tohma turned away from the television, refusing to look at Yuki as he spoke.

"Yes, Hiro. That man on the gurney was K."

**Meanwhile…**

Ryuichi hummed along to the radio as he took another right hand turn. It had been hours since he had left NG Studios, and while he hadn't managed to find Akira yet, he had found the next best thing. Pulling into his driveway, Ryuichi smiled and grabbed the stuffed bunny sitting in the passenger's seat.

"We're home, Kumagoro!"

A light groan caught his attention then and the singer focused his attention on the backseat of his car. Shuichi groaned again as he put his aching hand up to his head.

_I feel like I was run over by a truck. Or fell out of an airplane…_

Realization slamming into him, Shuichi sat up quickly, causing a wave of nausea and dizziness to hit him hard. He groaned again and laid back down.

"Hi Shuichi! Are you done sleeping now?"

Startled by the familiar yet unexpected voice, the pink haired singer opened his eyes and found himself face to face with his idol.

"Ryuichi?" he asked, very confused.

"Yep! Kumagoro and I found you asleep on the sidewalk! Silly Shuichi! That's no place for anyone to sleep, much less you! You should sleep somewhere that sparkles, like you!"

Still thoroughly confused, Shuichi managed to successfully sit himself up without wanting to barf up his breakfast.

"What am…Where are we?"

"At my house of course!" Ryuichi said, backing out of the car and pointing as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I knew that once you woke up from your nap, that you'd help me find Ak…"

"Ryuichi." Shuichi interrupted. "I really need to get back to Yuki."

The brunet singer pouted. "You always want to go back to Yuki. You never want to stay and help Ryuichi!"

The teen sighed. "I'm sorry, Ryuichi but it's kind of important. Y'see, I bought this ring, but it turns out it's cursed. If I don't get it back into it's ring box by midnight tonight, I'm going to be worm food!"

"Worm food?"

"Dead."

Ryuichi's eyes widened. "Shuichi can't die! I can't lose you, too!"

Shuichi was grateful the older singer was starting to understand.

"Wait. Me too? Have you lost someone else recently?"

The brunet sniffled and hugged Kumagoro tightly to his chest as he nodded.

"Akira." he said softly.

It took a few moments for Shuichi's rattled brain to process, but a few moments later he smiled.

"You don't have to worry about Akira, Ryuichi!"

"I don't?"

Shuichi shook his head lightly. "Akira's at Yuki's apartment! He has been since this morning."

Ryuichi squealed in delight and began dancing around in the street with Kumagoro. Shuichi couldn't help but grin as he watched his idol dancing on the dark street and…

Wait a minute. _Dark_ street?

"Ryuichi? What time is it?"

The singer managed to stop dancing around long enough to look at his watched and answered, "It's about ten o'clock."

Shuichi thought his eyes were going to bug out of his head. Ten o'clock? He'd been unconscious and lying in the backseat of Ryuichi's car for the past TEN hours? Seeing the horrified expression on the younger man's face, Ryuichi stepped forward and crouched down in front of him.

"Are you okay, Shuichi?"

"I…I…I have to get to Yuki!" Shuichi screamed out. "I've got two hours before midnight! Oh, God, I don't want to die!"

The distressed teen continued to ramble and rave about getting back to Yuki, getting the ring in the box before midnight and how he didn't want to be a 24-hour worm diner when a sudden sharp pain snapped through his face.

Turning with a shocked expression, he regarded Ryuichi, who stared down at him with hard eyes, his hand returning to his side after delivering a painful slap to Shuichi's face.

"Now's not the time to fall apart then, is it, Shuichi?" the singer asked, his voice taking a much different tone. "I think it's about time we got you back to Yuki's."

Shuichi released a breathe he didn't know he had been holding and allowed a little smile to spread on his face as he nodded.

Shutting the back door and jumping into the driver's seat, Ryuichi started the car and revved the engine.

"Then let's book it."

**Meanwhile…**

Tohma sighed, resting his head against his hands. It had been hours since anyone had heard anything about Shuichi. K had managed to get out of the crash with only a few relatively minor wounds thanks to his belt, but when the manager had woken up, he commented that Shuichi had been unable to get his straps together before they had impacted. This information had depressed them all to no end and Tohma continued to demand updates from the rescue squads at the scene until they had declared there was no chance of any other survivors being found.

Glancing over at the bandaged up gunman, Tohma was amazed that he had managed to survive at all. Given his near mummy-like appearance, he would be surprised if Shuichi had made it in one piece, let alone alive.

"Hiro, report." the blond growled into a walkie talkie.

Despite his wounds, K refused to relax until Shuichi had been found, dead or alive.

"I've got nothing, K. We've been all over downtown and no sign of Shuichi."

Hiro sighed. He and Tatsuha had been everywhere they could think in the hopes of finding Shuichi, or at least a lead on him. So far, though, nothing could be found of the singer.

He listened to the walkie as K asked Kara to report in.

"Nothing on our side either." the shopkeeper said glumly.

She glanced over at her passenger with concern. Yuki had barely said two words since news of the crash had reached them all and she could see the man starting to break down. She knew, like he did, that if they didn't find him by midnight…

Kara shuddered. That was the last thing she wanted.

It was the last thing any of them wanted.

She perked her ears as a crackle came over the radio.

"Hey, has anyone seen Ryuichi?"

Tohma rolled his eyes and walked over to K. Snatching the walkie talkie from the manager he pressed the button to talk.

"Tatsuha, I think there are more important things to worry about than your libido right now."

"No, no." Tatsuha replied. "I mean, what if Ryuichi's found him? You said he was out looking for Akira and Akira's been out with Shuichi all this time."

Tohma shook his head. "When Ryuichi left he said he would call me if he found Shuichi."

Yuki's voice suddenly came over the line. "This is the guy who makes the stuffed rabbit talk, right?"

"I suppose it couldn't hurt to check in with him. Hold on a minute." Tohma replied.

Handing the walkie back to K, Tohma walked back to his desk and picked up his cell phone. Dialing Ryuichi's number, Tohma waited patiently for the singer to pick up.

"Hellooooooo."

"Ryuichi? It's Tohma."

"Hey Tohma Tohma!"

"Ryuichi, this is very important. I need to know if you've found Shuichi."

Ryuichi smiled as he turned a sharp corner, switching the phone to his other ear.

"I sure have!" he chirped, happy to have won the 'Find Shuichi' game. "We're heading to Yuki's place to get Akira! Isn't that great?"

A wave of relief flooded over Tohma and slumped down into his chair. "Is Shuichi alright?"

"Yep! He's been asleep for a long time, but Ryuichi stayed with him!" the singer said proudly.

Tohma smiled. "Thank you, Ryuichi. We'll meet you at Eiri's apartment."

"Okie dokie!"

Slamming the phone shut, Tohma walked back to K. The gunman gladly handed him the walkie, a grin making its way onto his face.

"Tatsuha, you're a genius!"


	24. The Countdown Begins

A/N: Here we go. Last chapter will be up soon. :D

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 24: The Countdown Begins_

Kara tightened her grip on the steering wheel and floored it. Glancing over at Yuki, she noticed he was fiddling with his watch. A few moments earlier, she thought the man was going to burst into tears. Hell, when Tohma announced that Ryuichi had Shuichi, the singer was safe and heading to Yuki's apartment, _she_ had wanted to burst into tears.

"What are you doing?"

"Setting my watch to midnight." Yuki replied.

Kara glanced over again with a worried look.

"When we get that damn ring back in the box and midnight hits, I'm going to kiss Shuichi like he's never been kissed before."

Startled, Kara did her best to not look over and stare at the author. She knew he was dead tired. They all were. And the emotional rollercoaster had to be messing with his head. But even after just meeting him she never thought she'd hear something like that come out of his mouth.

"Can't this rust bucket go any faster?" Yuki grumbled.

The shopkeeper grinned. Figures it wouldn't last very long.

**Meanwhile…**

Shuichi smiled as he watched Ryuichi dance around the living room with Akira. He was finding it harder and harder to stay awake, but knowing that Yuki was on his way kept him from slipping off to dream land. The last thing he wanted was to miss one second of being with his lover again. Glancing at his watch for the fourth time, Shuichi sighed. It was after 11 o'clock now. He knew the others were probably all over trying to find him, but he was getting worried at how long it was taking for them to get here.

Pulling his legs up on the couch, Shuichi nervously fingered the cause of a week's worth of pain and suffering. Glancing down, the singer had the strongest desire to simply take off the ring and throw it where no one could ever find it. He twisted it a little, feeling it start to slid up his toe and sighed. He had no idea if simply removing the ring would have been enough, but Shuichi doubted it. Still, it did make him feel better to have the damn thing off…

Pulling the ring off completely, Shuichi set it on the coffee table in front of him. He continued to simply stare at it, ignoring Ryuichi's continued dancing around the room. A few minutes later a small sound caught his attention. Throwing his head up, Shuichi heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps in the hallway. Pushing up to his feet with a groan, the singer hobbled towards the front door, turning the corner just as the door swung open.

"Yuki…"

Stumbling forward, Shuichi grabbed the older man, throwing his arms around Yuki's neck and began sobbing into his shoulder.

Yuki closed his eyes and sighed, wrapping his arms around the singer and holding him tight. Words couldn't begin to express how he felt at that moment. Picking the singer up slightly, Yuki half carried, half dragged the smaller man to the living room and sat down on the couch. Shuichi wasted no time in crawling up to Yuki's lap, straddling one leg on each side of Yuki's.

Sitting the teen back, Yuki allowed a smile to form before he pulled Shuichi forward, crushing their lips together. It was several minutes of crying and kissing later before Kara dared to bother to two men. She knew they both needed this more than anything, and she wasn't about to deny it just yet. Hearing the door open behind her, she saw Hiro and Tatsuha enter the apartment and smiled at them.

"Shuichi?"

The pink haired singer whipped his head around and grinned. "Hiro!"

Yuki, however, refused to unlock his fingers from around Shuichi. It didn't really matter though. Shuichi was too sore to even attempt to get up anyway. He settled for hugging Hiro once the guitarist had come close enough before placing his head down on Yuki's chest and sighing.

And people thought you couldn't find heaven on Earth.

Kara cleared her throat nervously before speaking. "I'd hate to break things up, but, the ring?"

Shuichi opened his eyes and sat up. He pointed towards the coffee table. "Right there."

"Right where?" Kara asked, looking at the blank surface.

Shuichi's eyes widened as he stared at the empty table.

"But…But I just set it down there! Right before Yuki walked in!" he exclaimed.

Yuki's eyes narrowed in anger. "If this is someone's idea of a joke…"

"I don't think anyone would be that stupid, bro." Tatsuha said grimly.

The others nodded in agreement.

A quick search of the living room failed to produce the missing ring and Shuichi cried silently into his hands. So close. They were so close. If he had just kept the damn thing on his toe…

A strong arm came around his shoulder and Shuichi looked up and into his best friend's eyes.

"Hey, don't fall into a depression on me. We'll grab it." Hiro reassured. "It couldn't have gotten far. Rings don't just get up and walk away you know."

"Um," Everyone turned as Ryuichi walked into the room. "Has anyone seen Akira?"

**Half an Hour later…**

"I can't believe your fucking roach ran off with the ring!" Kara grumbled as she scanned down the hallway.

Ryuichi huffed. "Akira likes pretty things!"

The shopkeeper narrowed her eyes at the singer. "Well this 'pretty thing' is going to get Shuichi killed!"

They had tore the apartment apart trying to find Akira or the ring. After concluding that the roach was not inside, they had moved on to other apartments, though the tenants were none to happy. A few harsh words and pissed off glances had taken care of most of them, however.

Yuki glanced at his watch. 11:53pm.

Seven minutes.

Seven minutes left until Shuichi…

Shaking the thought from his head, Yuki steeled himself and continued to search.

"Did you check over there, Shuichi?"

Getting no response, Yuki looked around the apartment he was in.

"Shuichi?"

Stumbling out into the night air, Shuichi surveyed the rooftop. Having found no sign of Akira downstairs, the singer decided to check higher ground.

_At least if I kick it, I'll be under the stars…_

Walking slowly, every muscle in his body screaming for a break, Shuichi continued to search. Just as he was about to give up and head downstairs, a little hissing noise caught his attention. Stepping out onto the roof more, Shuichi finally spotted the source.

"Akira!" he cried happily.

Shuichi hurried over as fast as his tired body would let him, surprised when Akira let out a fierce hiss and scurried away from him. Slowing down and then stopping, the singer remembered what Ryuichi said. Akira like shiny things. And he didn't like to share them. Sliding slowly forward, Shuichi painstakingly inched his way towards the cockroach.

"Come on, Akira." he pleaded. "I just need to borrow it for a minute. Then you can have it as long as you like. Please?"

The cockroach hissed again, crawling up and on the ledge of the roof. Shuichi stopped when he was a few feet away. He wasn't quite sure what to do now. He couldn't wait Akira out, he didn't have the time! If he made a dive for him and missed, he never catch the bug.

On the other hand, if he didn't try now, he might not get a second chance. A million thoughts raced through his head as he considered his options and finally, Shuichi made a choice.

And when Yuki stepped out onto the roof, he saw that choice in action.

Amber eyes widened impossibly large as he witnessed Shuichi making a run for the edge of the roof. Spying a small glint, Yuki realized what he was making a run for.

That didn't stop him from running forward to stop the idiot.

Reaching out desperately with his hand as he flung himself forward, Shuichi felt his hand grab a hold of something. He tried to throw his weight backwards, praying he could stop himself before…

"Shuichi!"

Running to the edge of the roof, Yuki swallowed hard before he was able to look over the edge. Watching Shuichi disappear had probably taken a few years from Yuki's life and his hands shook as he peered over the side.

"Yuki!"

"Shuichi!" Yuki couldn't believe his eyes.

The singer was dangling from a window ledge just a few feet down, obviously having managed to grab it as he went by. The author stretched himself down, desperately trying to reach the teen and groaned in frustration when he realized he couldn't. Yuki looked around the roof quickly, hoping to spy a length of rope or anything that he could lower down. Seeing nothing, the blond pounded his fist against the stone and growled.

Hearing an odd hissing noise, Yuki peered over the ledge again. Looking at Shuichi, he watched as the ring-stealing cockroach popped out from under the singer's hand and scurried off.

"Damn it!" Yuki cursed. "Get back here you little…"

"It's okay, Yuki! I've got the ring." Shuichi said, managing a smile.

The author nodded and looked at his watch.

_Oh, God._

Seeing the haunted look in his boyfriend's eyes, Shuichi understood.

There wasn't enough time to find Kara and the box.

It was over.

Looking up, Shuichi smiled as a few stray tears rolled down his cheeks.

"It's okay, Yuki. You did everything you could."

"Don't talk like that. It's not over yet, damn it!"

"Shuichi!"

The singer started and strained to look down. Far below on the ground, staring up at them in horror were Kara and Tatsuha.

"I've got the ring!" he shouted down.

"Throw it!" Kara shouted. "I'll catch it! There's still time!"

Pulling one hand off the ledge, Shuichi let the ring drop from his finger. He watched it as it sailed to the ground below.

_Beep beep beep beep_

Yuki's eyes widened in fear as he glanced at his watch.

Midnight.

"I love you, Yuki."

He looked down as the singer's hand slipped off the ledge.

And Shuichi fell to his fate.


	25. Midnight

A/N: Holy crap. It's finally done! :D Thank you all so very much for your patience in getting this sucker finished! We've gone through comedy, drama, fluff and action and I couldn't have done it without you guys! Thank you again! :)

**One Bad Week**

_Chapter 25: Midnight_

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Beep._

_Click._

Shutting the box with a sigh, Kara finally turned her attention upwards, her heart sinking as she watched Shuichi begin to fall.

"No!"

On the roof, Yuki was absolutely frozen in terror, watching helplessly as his lover plunged towards the ground. Everything was happening in slow motion then. He could see the tears as they fell upwards. See the fear in Shuichi's eyes as he continued to stare up at Yuki. Panic rolled off the falling singer in waves as he plummeted towards the ground below.

And just like that, it was over.

Yuki stared, disbelief painting his entire being at the scene below. And he ran. He ran faster than he had ever ran in his life, taking the stairs three at a time until he finally reached his apartment. Slamming the door open, Yuki tore into the living room, stunned as he watched Hiro pull a limp Shuichi into the room by the hood on his shirt.

It was a one in a million chance.

_Fishing out a pair of jeans and a large orange hoodie, the teen dressed quickly. He didn't know why he was putting a hoodie on. It was a little too warm for such things._

Everything would have had to of been just so.

"_Why's there a giant hole in the living room?" Hiro asked from behind._

Absolutely perfect.

_Finally spotting Kara heading to unlock a nearby car, the author motioned for the guitarist to follow. He had a feeling the red head was going to be needed once they finally got back to Shuichi. _

One thing out of place…

"_Hey, don't fall into a depression on me. We'll grab it." Hiro reassured. _

And things could have been much different.

A low groan snapped Yuki from his thoughts and he shakily stumbled to the form on the floor.

"Shuichi?" he said quietly.

Another low groan and pair of violet eyes began to flutter open.

He could hear Hiro crying behind him. Relief pouring out of the red head as he struggled to catch his breath. Yuki turned his head towards the guitarist, a million words pouring from his eyes as he felt his own cheeks becoming wet. Hiro only nodded, too spent from the adrenaline rush to do much else.

"Yuki?"

Snapping his head back down, Yuki released a breath he didn't know he'd been holding as Shuichi stared back up at him.

"Am I…dead?"

Yuki couldn't help the smile that twitched at the corners of his mouth.

"No, idiot. You're not dead." he said with a shaky breath.

"I'm glad." the singer said quietly.

"So am I, Shu." Yuki said, drawing the younger man into his arms. "So am I."

**Several days later…**

Shuichi groaned as he opened his eyes to that damnable white ceiling again. He realized that he really needed to ask Yuki about painting their own ceiling a different color.

Maybe purple…

"Hey, you."

Glancing over, Shuichi smiled as Yuki stood up and walked towards the bed.

"Get enough sleep?" the author asked.

"I think so." Shuichi replied. "When do I get to go home?"

"Today if the doctor says you're good."

"Really?" the singer exclaimed, waking up a lot faster.

"Really."

"Really really?"

Yuki growled. "Don't push it, brat."

And Shuichi devilishly imposed Yuki Payback tactic 34: Sexy Shuichi.

Lifting his arms out, Shuichi smiled as Yuki obediently stepped forward to hug the singer.

"_Sooo_ mean, Yuki!" the singer chirped.

Running his hand down Yuki's cheek, the singer caught the novelist eyes with his own. Yuki gulped in return. The innocent half-asleep Shuichi had been cleverly replaced with a gorgeous young man, absolutely dripping sex from every pore of his being. He could feel Shuichi's breath hot on his cheek as the singer's lips slowly traveled towards his own. A moment later there was the slightest of touches, a gentle caress, a light nip and then Shuichi pushed himself forward, capturing Yuki's lips with his own.

Yuki absolutely melted in his arms.

The pink haired man mentally grinned. It wasn't a tactic he used often, but when he did…

A very loud clearing of throats surprised both men and they pulled apart quickly. Yuki panted several times before he was able to pull himself together and he turned around with a scowl on his face.

"Didn't mean to interrupt." Hiro said with a grin.

"Hiro!"

Easing his way around the fuming author, Hiro wrapped Shuichi in a quick hug.

"How're you doing today?" he asked.

"Okay, I guess." Shuichi said with a sigh. "Just desperate to go home."

Hiro nodded. "I bet you are."

The two continued to talk, catching up on Hiro's trip and other things as Yuki flopped himself back down in his chair. Soon the singer would be all his and he could institute his new 'no clothing in the house' policy. The thoughts that began running through Yuki's mind at that point kept him occupied for several minutes.

"Oh!" Hiro said suddenly. "I almost forgot the biggest reason I came to see you."

"Bigger than just seeing me?" Shuichi cried with a pout.

"Isn't everything bigger than you?" Hiro teased.

"Hey!"

The guitarist laughed and waved his hand. "Alright, alright. Sorry. Anyway, I'm suppose to tell you about our vacation."

"Yeah, yeah. Less than a week left." Shuichi sighed. Although he was thankful that Dr. Misomu had been kind enough to set his community service back a few more weeks, Shuichi was not at all looking forward to going back to work right now.

Hiro grinned. "Well, I suppose if you want to go back to work without us that bad, I can't stop you."

"What?"

"Tohma decided that because of what happened generating so much press, it would be better to push back the release date of our album to build up some anticipation." Hiro said, still grinning. "In other words, we're on vacation for an additional two weeks!"

Shuichi shot up in the bed, throwing up his arm and giving a loud whoop at the news. He immediately regretted it, however, as his entire chest began to hurt.

"Don't move around like that, idiot!" Yuki reprimanded, standing up. "Do you not understand the concept of broken ribs?"

Shuichi held his sides and slowly slid back down onto the bed with a pouting nod.

Hiro sighed but smiled. "I gotta get going."

"Aw, do you have to?" Shuichi asked.

"Yeah, sorry. But if you're still here I'll visit tomorrow. And if you're at home, well, I'll visit tomorrow!"

"Sounds good!" Shuichi said, hugging his friend again.

Hiro had just made it outside the door when a hand on his shoulder made him stop. Turning around, he was surprised to see Yuki standing behind him.

"Listen, about what happened…"

The guitarist could see the emotions as they danced over Yuki's eyes and waited patiently as the blond collected his thoughts.

"Thank you."

Hiro smiled at the novelist, his smile growing as he felt the hand on his shoulder tighten ever so slightly.

"Trust me," the red head replied, glancing over Yuki's shoulder to the singer behind. "It was my pleasure."

Several hours and several visitors later, Yuki walked back into the room with a wheelchair and a smile threatening to cross his lips.

Shuichi took one look at Yuki, one look at the chair and nearly jumped out of bed.

"Don't you dare." Yuki said suddenly, sensing the younger man's intent.

It took everything to restrain himself, but remembering the pain of earlier, Shuichi managed to do so. It was a bit of a struggle to get dressed and get situated in the chair but once Yuki started wheeling him towards the door, Shuichi was bursting with excitement. They slid out the back door, careful to not draw attention to themselves. Yuki wanted to avoid the journalists and the -shudder- fan girls at all costs.

Eventually, though, they were in the car and heading home.

Shuichi smiled and snuggled down in the familiar seat of Yuki's car, watching sleepily as the scenery passed by.

"Hey, Yuki?"

"Hm?"

"I love you."

The blond turned his head and gave the singer a look. A moment later, Shuichi felt a hand curl around his own and give it a slight squeeze. Looking over at the novelist, Shuichi noted how calm and relaxed he seemed and decided not to say more, least he break the quiet moment they shared. He smiled as he let his eyes and body relax for the first time in a week.

This, was all he ever wanted.

(-end-)


End file.
